Hodder wins Jimi Famurewa’s food memoir Picky in seven-way auction

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the second book from writer and restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa, a memoir charting his journey from picky child to professional critic.

Susannah Otter, publishing director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Imogen Pelham at Marjacq in a seven-way auction. Picky will be published on 29th May 2025, in hardback, e-book and audio.

Famurewa was the Evening Standard restaurant critic for six years and frequently appears as guest judge on Masterchef. The publisher says: “By anyone’s definition, he is a foodie, fascinated by how we eat and where we eat. But as a child, he scorned every vegetable or fruit, even hiding mashed potato in the pockets of his school uniform.

“Entertaining and vivid, Picky charts his unconventional journey to a love of food, via after-school McDonalds, terrible attempts at noughties nouvelle cuisine and a reckoning with his Nigerian roots.”

Famurewa said: “People are understandably surprised when I tell them what a finicky, cautious and determinedly vegetable-averse eater I was growing up. But I’ve always felt that it’s a vital contextual key to fully understanding my future obsessiveness around food. Picky was my chance to chart this unlikely (but, I think, quite relatable) journey, and I attacked it with the same zeal I once exclusively reserved for sugary tea and an entire packet of dark chocolate digestives.

“Writing it was joyfully nostalgic, emotionally gruelling, wildly epiphanic and hugely rewarding. I went deeper than I thought I would, did not skimp in any regard – honesty, jokes, lustful descriptions of 1990s supermarket pizzas – and gave it my absolute everything. For anyone who has ever enjoyed my writing about food and culture this will be, I hope, an especially satisfying, richly spiced and full-fat version of it.

“I’m immensely proud of it, grateful to Susannah Otter and all at Hodder for their belief and shrewd stewardship, and I can’t wait to serve it up to readers and reformed picky eaters everywhere later this year.”

Otter said: “I have long been a fan of Jimi’s thoughtful charm, and his ability to opine about food without being pretentious. I am thrilled he’s chosen to partner with us for his second book. The book is both comfort food and that hot sauce you’ve never dared try, perfect for the devoted foodie and more nervous restaurant-goer alike. With enough fast-food nostalgia to satisfy even the most fat-hardened foodie arteries as well as glorious dollops of nostalgia, this is a generous, warm look at a life built around food: what it can mean, what it can stand for, and why you should always pay attention to what someone is eating.”