Toast

An adaptation of Nigel Slater's bestselling memoir, Toast is the ultimate nostalgic trip through everything edible in 1960's Britain. Nigel's mother was always a poor cook, but her chronic asthma and addiction to all things canned does not help. Nigel, on the other hand, laps up cookbooks, spending all his time gazing longingly at the delights on offer in Percy Salt's grocers. As his mother's illness worsens, so does Nigel's relationship with his father. The bolognaise he cooks is far too exotic; the uncooked Fray Bentos pie simply must be finished; and his father's rage as Nigel insists on picking every last bit of jelly off the tinned ham at the annual picnic hits an all-time high. Just before Christmas, Nigel's mother dies, leaving Nigel and his father heartbroken. His father begins to spend his evenings at the Masonic lodge, until a new cleaner, Mrs Potter, arrives on the scene. Mrs Potter's figure, charms and lemon meringue pies quickly bewitch Nigel's father and, much to Nigel's horror, the three soon embark on a move to the country. The one silver lining in the cloud of a new school is domestic science class, through which Nigel can finally shine, and cooking soon becomes the key weapon in the battle for his dad's affections. Ironically, the main casualty of these culinary skirmishes is Nigel's father, as his waistline grows and grows as Mrs Potter's cooking turns obsessive. When Nigel lands a job in the kitchen of his local pub, his eyes are opened to a world of opportunity, both culinarily and sexually. He soon becomes smitten with both the new owner's cooking and with her son. When his father dies, Nigel's mind is set as he packs a bag for London and arrives at the door of The Savoy Hotel.