Preview
  • Consider the Fork

  • A History of How We Cook and Eat
  • By: Bee Wilson
  • Narrated by: Alison Larkin
  • Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,395 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Consider the Fork

By: Bee Wilson
Narrated by: Alison Larkin
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights into how we've prepared and consumed food over the centuries - and how those basic acts have changed our societies, our diets, and our very selves.

©2012 Bee Wilson (P)2012 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Wilson is erudite and whip-smart, but she always grounds her exploration of technological change in the perspective of the eternal harried cook - she's been one - struggling to put a meal on the table. This is mouthwatering history: broad in scope, rich in detail, stuffed with savory food for thought." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Consider the Fork

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    702
  • 4 Stars
    477
  • 3 Stars
    167
  • 2 Stars
    32
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    699
  • 4 Stars
    363
  • 3 Stars
    110
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    15
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    636
  • 4 Stars
    391
  • 3 Stars
    142
  • 2 Stars
    30
  • 1 Stars
    12

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

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

Interesting content, but not a good flow.

The author has some really good historical content and explanation, but she jumps around too much. The book has a tendency to jump foreword and backward in time and from item to item.
Some additional information about other culinary cultures would have been appreciated too.

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

A fresh view on kitchen technology and tools

The narration is excellent. The topic is a fresh view of kitchen technology from roasting spits to sou vide cooking. The author has done her research globally. Although the author is clearly from the UK, she discusses the trends in kitchen technology world wide with special focus on the U.S. and UK with attention paid to the differences in economies, tastes, and social trends driving kitchen tech and tools in different parts of the world. With all the books about the history of food it is nice to get a book focused on the tools we use to prepare it as well. I highly recommend!

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

Loved this book --

If you are a foodie or food history buff, you will enjoy this book. It's fascinating in its detail of kitchen equipment, appliances, and so on. It reminded me, in a way, of Bill Bryson's "At Home," another excellent book about the history of the home. It's a good read.

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

Must read for anyone who enjoys cooking!

This book really blew my expectations. I love her comfortable style of writing and her witty comments. As I listened to the different chapters, I felt this incredible connection to her as a fellow lover of food. Really worthwhile, my only complaint would be that it did not come with attached pictures of the described contraptions.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great for history and food lovers

really nice overview of how kitchens and cooking evolved, great for those "useless facts" you'd like to dish out, pun very much intended.

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
    4 out of 5 stars

Humor, lots of tidbits of history.

Very educational and entertaining; informative as it jumps around a lot in following interesting trails of information.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great information if you play Trivail Pursuit

I have read a significant number of books of this ilk. I generally like the book. You lean about the history of this and that -- one of them being the fork. Although this book is packed with interesting information. There is nothing earth moving or should I should say cow moving. If you want to lean many numerous factoids, this is the book for you. For me it was just ok.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

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

Fake American accent is distracting!

Have you listened to any of Alison Larkin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I intensely dislike the (un)American accent she uses for the American characters in the book. It's utterly distracting and takes away from her otherwise splendid performance.

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

What fun...

A charming book that tells the history of what we eat through the tools we use to prepare it. The book is written with great charm and good humor and the narration is just right.

History is most often told through politics and commerce. This is history of a different sort, told through the kitchen.

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

Fascinating Book

This is even better than I hoped for, but I did have to listen away from bedtime because the narrator's voice is very calm and soothing.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!