Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Appetite

  • A Memoir in Recipes of Family and Food
  • By: Ed Balls
  • Narrated by: Ed Balls
  • Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (46 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Appetite

By: Ed Balls
Narrated by: Ed Balls
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

‘Delightfully different’ – Delia Smith

Ed Balls was just three weeks old when he tried his first meal: pureed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. While perhaps ill-advised by modern weaning standards, it worked for him in 1967, and from that moment on he was hooked on food.

Appetite is a memoir with a twist: part autobiography, part cookbook, each chapter is a recipe that tells a story. Ed was taught to cook by his mother, and now he’s passing these recipes on to his own children as they start to fly the nest. Sitting round the table year after year, the world around us may change, but great recipes last a lifetime.

Appetite is a celebration of love, family, and really good food.
©2021 Ed Balls (P)2021 Simon & Schuster Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Chewing the Fat cover art
JGV cover art
Old Rage cover art
Hallelujah! The Welcome Table cover art
Bread & Wine cover art
The Marmalade Diaries cover art
Spinning Plates cover art
The Ten (Food) Commandments cover art
Beautiful Affair cover art
Keep Talking cover art
Red Sauce Brown Sauce cover art
L.A. Son cover art
Life from Scratch cover art
Mango and Peppercorns cover art
Menus That Made History cover art
The Lick of Love cover art

Critic reviews

"Delightfully different." (Delia Smith)

What listeners say about Appetite

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely food memoir

I was a bit unsure but thought that I’d give this a try and I’m glad that I did. Some recipes that are perfect for home cooks, intersperse Proustian passages of autobiography.
Many of the scenes of family life will resonate, regardless of background.

My only gripe is that it really needs an accompanying pdf or content bookmarks so that we can find the recipes. No one wants to start scrolling through them on any of these types of book. Come on Audible, please up your game in this respect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loves life, loves food

Enjoyable listen. Ed Balls lives life with a smile and cooks with the same joke de cuvée

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

This was an easy and enjoyable book to listen to. Reflective and interesting in equal measure. I too enjoy cooking immensely and so it resonated completely with me the joy of creating food that others enjoy.
Nicely written and read, good job Ed!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What is it not to love?

I really enjoyed this book. It has everything I love: food, history, politics and family life. I listened to it whilst cooking. It made me very hungry.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really lovely story told in meals

I really enjoyed this audio book learning more about Ed and his family. The one thing I didn't like were his large nasal intakes of breath when reading it. Surprised this got through the edit TBH.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Warm and comforting, like a tray of Yorkshire puds

This was a lovely listen. I am about the same age, so the reminiscences are of similar vintage. The recipes are fab, the political gossip is fun, but it is the love that Ed Balls has for his family that really shines out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

loved this, some great recipes as well as an interesting listen to Ed's life.
liked the recipes so much bought the book as well

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

ENJOYABLE READ

I could take or leave Ed Balls but after reading a newspaper review I thought I would give this book it a go. I’ve really enjoyed it and now I think I’m a fan, (never thought I would say that!)
If you’re after a nice easy read, warts and all, give it a go. Well done Ed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely feel good book

What an enjoyable ramble through family life with anecdotes and recipes too. Although the frequent mention of coriander had me grimacing! if Yvette ever kicks you out Ed, I'd be delighted to have you! A man who does the cooking....bliss! I hope she appreciates how lucky she is!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gorgeous, moving and mouthwatering.

I can't say I ever cared much for Ed Balls during his years in politics, and I am generally wary of (former) politicians and their cultural efforts, but "Appetite" is a gorgeous feast of moving memories, extremely relatable family stories and mouthwatering recipes. I was moved to tears several times, especially when the author talked about his lovely relationship with his parents and his mum's fight with dementia.
Overall, moving, funny and surprisingly relatable, "Appetite" is a most delicious literary treat and one of the best memoirs I've read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!