Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears : The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution - Full of culinary delights for the foodie in your life this Christmas - Andrew Turvil

Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears

The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution - Full of culinary delights for the foodie in your life this Christmas

By: Andrew Turvil

Hardcover | 29 December 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $42.99

$37.99

12%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $9.50 with

 or 

Available: 29th December 2025

Preorder. Will ship when available.

In 1990, Britain was mocked for its bland food and over-boiled veg but by 2000, the country was on its way to being one of the world’s most exciting culinary hotspots.  
Former Good Food Guide editor Andrew Turvil was there
, tasting Marco Pierre White’s three Michelin starred food, clocking Jamie Oliver’s first TV take, and fielding volcanic phone calls from irate chefs. In sparkling prose and a veritable feast of 1990s food, Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears charts the wild ride from the cigarette-fueled ‘SAS of kitchens’ to Hakkasan’s velvet-dark glamour via the £5 recession lunch and the arrival of conveyor-belt sushi. 

What you’ll find inside: 
•    First-hand stories from Marco Pierre White, Paul Heathcote, Vineet Bhatia, Heston Blumenthal, and more.
•    The 1990s trends that shaped today - coffee outlets rose 847% and monthly eating-out nearly tripled by 2015, while organic sales doubled.
•    A tasting tour of 33 iconic dishes that still shape restaurant menus now, from Black Cod Miso to Triple-Cooked Chips.
•    Insight into how the 1990s forged the careers of current headline chefs and set the template for Britain’s modern, multicultural food identity

Fast-paced, funny and meticulously researched, this is a love-letter to restaurants—and the people who bled to make them great. If you’ve ever yelled “Yes, chef!” at a TV, queued for ramen, or Instagrammed a marrow bone, this is your origin story. This is the ultimate feast of 90s nostalgia. 

More in Memoirs

Told You So - Mayci Neeley

Hardcover

RRP $49.99

$36.99

26%
OFF
Exposure : A photographic memoir - Greg Weight

RRP $44.99

$37.75

16%
OFF
The Last Hart Beating : From the Dungeon to WWE - Nattie Neidhart

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
The Voice Inside : The Illustrated Edition - John Farnham

RRP $65.00

$48.99

25%
OFF
My Family and Other Animals : Penguin Clothbound Classics - Gerald Durrell
Always You - Chloe Fisher

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
The Whole Truth - Jackie O

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF
Pump Up the Jam - Amanda Keller

$34.99

A Thousand Feasts : Small Moments of Joy ... A Memoir of Sorts - Nigel Slater
Book of Lives : A Memoir of Sorts - Margaret Atwood

RRP $69.99

$52.75

25%
OFF
Mastering My Messy Life : My Journey from Chaos to Clarity - Steph Pase
The Look : The No1 New York Times bestseller - Michelle Obama

RRP $69.99

$52.75

25%
OFF
Unapologetically Ita - Ita Buttrose

SIGNED COPY

RRP $49.99

$36.99

26%
OFF
The Curious Diplomat : A memoir from the frontlines of diplomacy - Lachlan Strahan
Nowhere Girl : Life as a Member of ADHD's Lost Generation - Carla Ciccone
Wifedom : Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life : Our July Book of the Month - Anna Funder
Death of an Ordinary Man - Sarah Perry

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
The Good Cop : The True Story of Ron Iddles - Justine Ford

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF