A Curious Absence of Chickens

'Sophie Grigson has written twenty odd  excellent  cookbooks, but I think this is the best of them. It is her  first book  for a decade and was obviously driven by a real love of her  subjects,  which are Puglia, people and food. It is witty, informative,  fascinating  and stuffed full of recipes you want to cook.' Prue Leith

'Puglia is a region I wanted to get to know intimately, to understand culture, life, history and geography, reflecting through the prism of the food that's put on the tables of locals and tourists, too. I'm reminded of my 20-year old self, scribbling in notebooks as I first travelled through Italy's south, only this time I'm back to stay.'

After her children grew up and left home, Sophie Grigson found herself living  alone. About to turn 60, she took the decision to sell or give away most of her belongings, to pack up her car and to drive to Puglia on her own to start a new life. In a part of Italy where she didn't know anyone, having last visited the region 40 years ago, this narrative book of food  writing, stories and recipes brings to life the region, its food and the local characters that she meets along the way. 

This is a book about courage, hope, new horizons and, above all, delicious food.

'Vivid, humorous and unsentimental, Sophie's portrait of modern Puglia, still seeped in old ways, is a delicious treat' Xanthe Clay

'OMFG! This beautiful book is transporting me there. I can't put it down. And the lack of chickens... I never bloody noticed!' Matt Tebbutt

Sophie Grigson is a cook, food writer and television presenter with over 20 books to her name and nine television series for BBC, Channel 4 and UKTV Food, as well as several more for the Travel Channel. She has also written columns and articles for the Evening Standard, Independent, Sunday Times, Country Living, BBCGood Food and Waitrose Food Illustrated. On impulse, after interviewing the late Russell Norman about his book, Venice, in 2019 she sold or gave away the majority of her belongings and packed herself into her small car to move to Puglia in the south of Italy. Since making the town of Ceglie Messapica her home, she has filmed two series of the award-winning Sophie Grigson: Slice of Italy for Discovery/Food Network and started her catering business, Trulli Delicious.