A Real Treat – All You Can Eat by Ben Benson

From foxes and parmos, to crisp traditions and faggots, Young Critic Phoebe tells us all about Ben Benson’s appearance at Lichfield Literature Festival to talk about his new book ‘All You Can Eat.

As we made our way to The Hub at St Mary’s to see Ben Benson and his book ‘All You Can Eat’, we realised that it was actually the book’s release day, which made it even more exciting to hear him speak.

We arrived 15 minutes early, which gave us time to get our seats and a drink. After a while, the lights went off and the audience began to settle into their seats. There was a real sense of excitement in the room, and a friendly atmosphere.

Ben Benson was welcomed onto the stage, followed by Emma Reed, a journalist, who asked him questions about his book. Ben came across as charming, funny, and passionate, and it was clear that his book was well researched. He travelled from Scotland all the way down to the south of Britain, trying lots of different British foods along the way.

Ben had the audience laughing with a funny story about a parmo (a meat and cheese dish from Middlesbrough) and a fox. He also talked about interesting ideas from his book, like how “we are a nation of sandwich eaters,” and how, even though there are so many crisp flavours now, people still go back to classic choices like salt and vinegar.

One of the things that stood out to me most, especially being from the West Midlands, was when he was asked about what his last meal would be. He said it would be “faggots with lots, and lots, and lots of vinegar”, referring to a type of meatball made from minced off-cuts and offal. He also mentioned that lamb was surprisingly hard to find in Wales and talked about not being able to find laverbread too.

However, there were a few things I didn’t fully agree with. For example, he implied that nobody eats well-cooked home food, which might not be true for everyone. Overall, the talk made me want to buy the book, and I did! I now have a signed copy from the author. I haven’t read it yet, but if it’s anything like his stories and descriptions during the talk, I think it will be a real treat.

By Phoebe H