As many of you will be taking a break during the summer I thought I would recommend a book that in my opinion makes the perfect holiday read, especially if you have an interest in food. Butter by Asako Yuzuki was first brought to my attention by the chef Nigel Slater, he raved about it and described it as a mix of food, Japan and a serial killer…. I ordered it immediately and it did not disappoint.
The serial killer in question is a woman named Manako Kaji who is accused of enticing lonely, rich businessmen using her superior culinary skills, extorting their money and killing them off one by one. The book follows Rika, a journalist on a quest for the truth, she gains access to Manako in prison as she waits for her case to come to trial and starts a relationship which begins with a simple exchange of recipes and ends in a psychologically obsessive partnership.
The book is full of detailed descriptions of meticulous meal preparation, mostly Japanese and French food that will make your mouth water and inspire you to get in the kitchen and at the very least try the very simple recipe of rice, butter and soy sauce.
The author gives a great insight into current Japanese food culture, I found it interesting that many people eat out in Tokyo due to long working hours and rarely host dinners at home due to pressure to produce the ‘perfect meal’, a pattern that mirrors Western eating habits and might be partly attributable to the rising obesity levels seen in Japan in recent years.
I found it interesting to read about the misogynistic societal pressures exerted on Japanese women from childhood, if a woman isn’t slim then she is told that she won’t be worth bothering with, this quote really resonated; ‘Japanese women are required to be self-denying, hardworking, and acetic, and in the same breath, to be feminine, soft and caring towards men, everyone finds that an impossible balance to strike and struggles desperately as a result’.
This book is enthralling and will keep you guessing and salivating the whole way through, the fact that it’s based on a real-life case of a woman known as ‘The Konkatsu Killer’ makes it even more captivating.
MLT Nutrition 