Food writer and broadcaster Nigel Slater's evocative autobiography depicts a childhood where happiness and edibles were synonymous. Switch on BBC1 this Thursday, December 30, at 9pm and you can enjoy his mouth-watering and tearful recollections as they're piped directly into your lounge.
Slater's book--also called Toast and first published in 2003--has been compacted into a 90-minute screenplay featuring a plumped up, blonde Helena Bonham Carter as his nightmarish stepmother. Toast is like a foodie Cinderella: instead of a glass slipper, Slater slips on an apron and, finally, chef's whites. Keep an eye out for multiple handsome princes as young Slater begins to explore his sexuality.
Slater lived out his early childhood in 1960s suburban Wolverhampton. After his mother died and his stuffy, neglectful father took up with the cleaner, Mrs Potter, they moved to a country cottage outside Worcester. Nigel's relationship with his malevolent new mum was perhaps his most important. She was a fiend, but also an exquisite cook. The first non-tinned foods that Slater samples are whipped up by the Potter woman.
Toast puts across the horror of a loveless childhood without ever coming off as stodgy or dour. The camera work veers from elegant and artful to full on mischievous. Scenes containing food are particularly playful. It has a cartoonish, Tim Burton-esque feel, and not just because it stars his wife.
The desserts from Slater's memoir are especially glorious, with their fluorescent jellies, puffy swirls and unwieldy height. Mrs Potter's lemon meringue pie looks like it should be served with mountaineers. Even if you didn't live and eat in the '60s, you'll come away with a nostalgic throat lump and immediately start planning a retro dinner party menu.
The 90-minute adaptation is informally divided into two servings. Each sees Slater played by a different boy. Freddie Highmore replaces the pre-teen version shortly after the house move. His entrance signifies the beginning of the food porn camera work, and you can start to visualize a joyous, foodie future for Slater. As a young boy he lacks confidence but as his kitchen skills improve so does his self-belief. He even manages an occasional life-affirming face off with his step-mum.
Slater's story breaks off in his late teens but you'll be ravenous for more. To date, the writer has refused to serve up a second round of Toast so you'll just have to savour this scrumptious helping. Ideally, watch while scoffing a pie in a tin followed by a large bowl of toffee-flavoured Angel Delight.
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