Fig Tree to offer Food DIY

Juliet Annan at Fig Tree has won a "hotly contested" auction involving seven bidders to buy cookery manual Food DIY by Tim Hayward.

Annan acquired world rights to the book, and a second volume, from Tim Bates at Pollinger Ltd for what she called an "interesting" sum. Hayward is the editor and founder of food magazine Fire and Knives, and his book is promised to be a one-stop guide to the DIY food movement, including how to make your own cheese, smoke meats, butcher, preserve and pickle, build a still and brew your own cider.

Annan called Hayward "funny, erudite, gonzo and practical" and "the most original new voice in food writing for ages."