Motherland

‘A beautifully personal love letter to the glorious food of Jamaica, and the people and their history which has shaped it. This fabulous book will keep me very busy’ * Jay Rayner *
‘In Motherland, Melissa Thompson gives us a different view of Jamaican cooking: one from the other side of the Atlantic. She gives us a vivid history of the country and of her connections to it. Alongside the mouth-watering recipes, there’s family history and anecdote and a glossary to aid novices. It is a masterful work and a must for any lover of the food of Jamaica and the Caribbean region or simply anyone who loves good food’ * Dr Jessica Harris, author of High on the Hog *
‘Melissa captures her love of food and its roots deliciously’ * Ainsley Harriott *
‘Recipes that draw you to the kitchen and a story that expands your world’ * Sheila Dillon *
‘Melissa Thompson’s Motherland is a truly exceptional book, telling the story of Jamaica through its food, which cannot be separated from its history. About this Thompson is direct and — rightly — unsparing, and yet she manages to bring such joy at the same time: this is a true celebration of Jamaican food and Jamaica, not an airbrushed, whitewashed version. I marvel at this book, a beautiful product itself: it manages to combine a matter-of-fact honesty and illuminating attention to detail with such warmth and joy and — this is, after all a cookbook — deep deliciousness’ * Nigella Lawson *
‘The story of Jamaica, its people and the culinary influences it has absorbed, flows through and around the recipes’ * Diana Henry *
‘A beautifully eclectic collection of recipes that reflect the African, Asian, Indigenous and European roots of Jamaican food’ * Delicious Magazine *
‘Tracing the history of Jamaican food in a delicious fashion’ * The Glasgow Herald *
‘A standout cookbook’ * The Daily Telegraph *

Melissa Thompson is an award-winning writer and cook who started a supper club in her front room in 2014. A former feature writer on a national newspaper, in 2015 she left journalism to pursue her love of cooking, with the supper club growing into a sell-out pop out across locations in London.

Born in Dorset to a Jamaican father and Maltese mother, her food has always been an eclectic celebration of cuisines around the world. She is passionate about flavour, provenance and respecting food cultures. As a food writer, she has penned powerful articles on the British food industry that became focal points for important discussions around identity, diversity and inclusivity. She won the Guild of Food Writers’ Food Writing Award in 2021. She has spoken on issues of representation at talks, including regularly chairing panel discussions for the British Library’s food season.

She works as an ambassador for Weber and writes BBQ recipes for magazines, food brands and newspapers. She is a columnist for BBC Good Food magazine and has written articles and recipes for the Guardian, Stylist, Vittles, Waitrose Weekend and Waitrose Magazine.

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