Knives and Spoons

'. . . bleak, savage and yet wonderfully funny and tender tales of grief, belonging and finding a reason to live' – Independent

'Gill writes very well. Brilliantly actually. He is better than his father . . . Knives And Spoons is less about food than addiction, psychological heebie-jeebie . . .' – Daily Mail

'A vital new voice who speaks so powerfully about addiction' – Bryony Gordon, journalist

'You’ll be dead by Christmas if you don’t seek help, immediately.’

In his late twenties and unable to control his spiralling substance abuse, Alasdair Gill finds himself confronted with a stark prognosis that is impossible to ignore. For a decade, he has moved through the kitchens, pubs and culinary haunts of London’s dining scene - a world where vices are easily served and the relentless physical rush of service has allowed his addictions to thrive.

As Ali begins the process of assessing his past, he discovers that the kitchen holds more than just old triggers. Food was never just a backdrop to the chaos but it was written into his DNA, inheriting the culinary legacy of a towering food-critic father and a missing, Michelin-starred uncle.

Rooted in this rich and complicated history, and where heavy grief for friends-in-addiction runs deep, Knives and Spoons becomes so much more than a kitchen confidential. Lyrical, candid and deeply compassionate, it is a raw and darkly funny exploration of a life spent on a knife’s edge and one man's search for a reason to live when the high finally fades.

'A story of hope, love, cooking and redemption' - Tom Parker-Bowles, food writer and critic