Fork In Review

In this book, the angry chef demolishes food fads. If you are sick of kale and quinoa on every café menu, then this book is for you. Warner did a degree in biochemistry, but later became a chef because he wants people to enjoy food, not food fads.

Later, he became The Angry Chef because he wanted to fight back against the pseudoscience of the wellness movement:

Clean eating started as a fringe movement but has grown into a huge and unrepentant tide of nutribollocks.

His straight forward no-nonsense language makes the reading of this book even more satisfying. He admits:

Unlike the purveyors of pseudoscience that I rail against, I offer you no certainty, no easy answers, no single stories…..this book is an investigation of bad science in the world of food.

 To give you an idea of what he means, the chapter headings are:  Detox Diets, Alkaline Ash, Coconut Oil, Sugar, Paleo, Antioxidants, and a history of quackery.

Warner understands that it won’t appeal to everyone, but the answer he reckons is how science is taught in schools.

He asserts that we believe falsehoods about food, and if these are challenged, then we feel uncomfortable. This is because, he maintains, we have an instinctive brain:

Our instinctive brain loves anything that society and the media have approved, believing thoroughly in the wisdom of the crowd and hugely susceptible to the influence of bright shiny celebrities.

It’s easy to get the impression he would like us to pull ourselves together, and do some thinking. This book is easy to read and worthwhile.