Faber chews the fat with Jay Rayner column collection

Faber is to publish Chewing the Fat: Tasting Notes from a Greedy Life, a collection of columns by author and journalist Jay Rayner.

The publisher said: "Why are gravy stains on your shirt at the dinner table to be admired? Does bacon improve everything? And is gin really the devil’s work? In this rollicking collection of his hilarious columns, the award-winning writer and Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner answers these vital questions and many, many more. They are glorious dispatches, seasoned in equal measure with both enthusiasm and bile, from decades at the very frontline of eating."

Actor and author Stanley Tucci said of Rayner: "A sophisticated palate and a fiery, comic tongue. Jay Rayner’s food writing is brilliant," while Nigella Lawson sadded "This is Rayner at his rambunctious best: upfront, full-fat, and always deliciously written."

Guardian Faber acquired world all-language rights from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. The book will be published on 2nd September 2021. 

Rayner has written on topics ranging from crime and politics, through cinema and theatre to the visual arts, and is best known as the restaurant critic for the Observer. His awards include Young Journalist of the Year, Critic of the Year and Restaurant Critic of the Year. In 2018 he was named Restaurant Writer of the Year in the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. He regularly appears as a judge on "MasterChef", and since 2012 has been the chair of BBC Radio 4’s food panel show "The Kitchen Cabinet". He also hosts his own podcast, "Out to Lunch".

Faber published his food memoir, My Last Supper: One Meal, A Lifetime in the Making in April 2019.