Найджел Слейтер: Жизнь, еда и воспоминания

English food writer, journalist and broadcaster

Nigel Slater (born 9 April 1956) is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for The Observer Magazine for over a decade and is the principal writer for the Observer Food Monthly supplement. Prior to this, Slater was a food writer for Marie Claire for five years.

Slater's book, Eating for England: The Delights & Eccentricities of the British at Table (Fourth Estate), is devoted to British food and cookery. It was published in October 2007 and was described in The Sunday Times as "the sort of ragbag of choice culinary morsels that would pass the time nicely on a train journey". His book Tender is the story of his vegetable garden, how it came to be, and what grows in it. The book was published in two volumes; the first is on vegetables, which was released late in 2009 and the second is on fruit, which was released in 2010. Tender is described as a memoir, a study of fifty of our favourite vegetables, fruits and nuts and a collection of over five hundred recipes. Slater became known to a wider audience with the publication of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger (2003), a moving and award winning autobiography focused on his love of food, his childhood, his family relationships (his mother died of asthma when he was nine) and his burgeoning homosexuality. Slater has called it "the most intimate memoir that any food person has ever written". Toast was published in Britain in October 2004 and became a best seller after it was featured on the Richard & Judy Book Club. As he told The Observer, "The last bit of the book is very foody. But that is how it was. Towards the end I finally get rid of these two people in my life I did not like [his father and stepmother, who had been the family's cleaning lady]—and to be honest I was really very jubilant—and thereafter all I wanted to do was cook."

Slater's autobiographical work was adapted into 2010's Toast, starring Freddie Highmore as the 15 year old Slater and Helena Bonham Carter as his stepmother. It has been broadcast on BBC One. In 2018, The Lowry commissioned a stage adaptation of Toast written by Henry Filloux Bennett and directed by Jonnie Riordan with Sam Newton as Nigel Slater. After a sell out run at the Week 53 Festival, it was announced that it would transfer to the Traverse Theatre at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Both productions of the show received rave reviews with critics praising it for its charm and glowing nostalgia. In 2018, it was announced that Toast would transfer to The Other Palace in London, premiering on 9 April 2019. In March 2019, it was announced that Giles Cooper would play the role of Nigel. In April 2019, it was announced that the show would embark on a UK National Tour in the autumn.

Slater has two older brothers, Adrian (born 1944) and John. Slater's parents adopted John, a neighbour's child, before Slater was born. In 2003, Slater published his autobiography Toast which is based upon his early life; the book spawned both a film and a play to which he has contributed and collaborated.