Although Tom Parker Bowles came from a life of relative privilege (his mother Camilla carried on a long-term relationship with Britiain's Prince Charles before finally marrying him in 2005 and he remains very close to his step-brothers, Princes William and Harry) he writes like an everyman.
Parker Bowles is an unabashed foodie, a garrulous gourmand whose insatiable cravings for culinary adventure frequently get him in trouble. He regularly bites off more than he can chew, both figuratively and literally, and he seems to spend as much time during this year-long adventure searching for antacids and hangover remedies as he spends in search of his next meal.
Parker Bowles has a unique ability to write in a humorous, self-deprecating way while somehow managing to impart copious amounts of interesting information. He uses words to paint pictures of what life is like in the countries he visits, from the drab cement jungles of modern China, to the dangerous coastal waters of Portugal, to the tropical villages of Korea.
The World's Most Dangerous Food
To read this book is to see the world through the eyes of a slightly jaded Englishman. Parker Bowles’ desire to experience the world’s most potentially dangerous cuisines leads him to ever more daring heights as the book progresses. He samples fiery hot pepper sauces in New Mexico; fishes for baby eels, called elvers, in England (more dangerous than you would imagine); survives the poisonous fugu (blow-fish) in Japan; and goes in search of a tasty plate of man’s best friend in Korea.
Liberally interspersed with colorful descriptions of the locals and locales, Parker Bowles has an obvious appreciation for the people, places, and meals that make his travels so memorable. He is as eager to share a beer and bowl of soup with a cab driver as he is to sit down to a multi-course dinner with VIPs.
The Culture of Food
This book is a playful romp through meals and snacks that will make you in turns both hungry and slightly queasy. Somehow in the middle of the fun and excitement, however, you may find yourself taking a long, hard look at your own culture, and realizing that, in the grand scheme of things, you have it pretty good.
And, if in the end you find that your idea of danger and the author’s are quite different, it only reinforces the realization that many of Parker Bowles’ pronouncements, like many of his meals, should be taken with a liberal pinch of salt.
This book is a wonderfully interesting, unique, and entertaining read, one that you will return to over and over again.
The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes, ISBN 0091904900, was published in September 2006 by Ebury Press. The author, Tom Parker Bowles is a food writer for the Mail on Sunday, the Tatler and has written two other books, E Is For Eating - An Alphabet of Greed (Ebury Press, 2004) and Full English: A Journey Through the British and Their Food (Ebury Press, 2009). He is currently one of the co-presenters for the UKTV Food Channel series "Market Kitchen."
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