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Friday Night Chicken
  • Published: 15 April 2027
  • ISBN: 9781529962451
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 352
Categories:

Friday Night Chicken

Formats & editions
EBook
15 Apr 2027
Audiobook
15 Apr 2027
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Not since the writing of Claudia Roden has Jewish culture and its food been so beautifully brought to the page

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JANE GRIGSON AWARD 2025

'Aaron’s heartfelt memoir will leave your heart and mind full … but your stomach craving latkes.' Tim Anderson, chef & award-winning writer

'Beautifully written. A book which reminds us that food is the language of love.' Asma Khan, chef & bestselling author

In this captivating coming-of-age memoir, Aaron Vallance gives you a seat at the enchanting and delectable meals that shaped his understanding of the world growing up in an Ashkenazi Jewish family in 1980s Manchester.

Through exceptional storytelling, Aaron re-creates the particularities of his childhood - one where he would have chicken on a Friday, eat Challah every Saturday, bagels every Sunday, and then a smattering of chopped herring, chremsls, chrain, and latkes in between. With a stomach full, he explores the traditions, rituals, festivals and meaning behind these foods we might all recognise, celebrating the nuances of a tight-knit, if often insular, Jewish community along the way.

Written with warmth and joy, Friday Night Chicken is a one-of-a-kind story for all lovers of food and personal stories to delight in.

'Full of heart and warmth. A joy to read!' Angela Hui, author of Takeaway
  • Published: 15 April 2027
  • ISBN: 9781529962451
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 352
Categories:

About the author

Aaron Vallance

Aaron Vallance is a writer, lover of food and part-time NHS doctor. His food writing blog 1 Dish 4 The Road, has been shortlisted three times for a Guild Food Writers Award and he has also been published in Vittles, Lecker Magazine and Pit Magazine. He currently has a role at the Guild of Food Writers as a Special Officer for Diversity. Friday Night Chicken is Aaron’s debut book and was shortlisted pre publication for the highly prestigious Jane Grigson Trust Award in 2025.
AV

Praise for Friday Night Chicken

Beautifully written. A book which reminds us that food is the language of love.

Asma Khan, chef and bestselling author of DARJEELING EXPRESS

Aaron eloquently unites the personal and the universal in his heartfelt story of food and family among the Jewish diaspora. This is a fascinating, moving, and generously detailed look at a culinary tradition that has always intrigued me.

Tim Anderson, award-winning chef and writer

Aaron is such a lyrical writer. I always learn something new when I read his writing, but it’s his talent for digging down to the interpersonal, evocative and social core of food that makes his work so good.

Ruby Tandoh, bestselling author EAT UP!

Aaron's writings and tales of various celebrations, not only transport you to the family table but, in my case, educate in the various dishes and ceremonies, of which I knew very little, but now would love to share that Friday night dinner. Poignant, funny and stomach-rumbling inducing prose.

Julie Friend, Vice Chair of Guild of Food Writers

I love Aaron’s writing, it’s so full of heart and warmth. The way he writes about the relationship between food and family is so special, delicious and informative. A joy to read!

Angela Hui, author of TAKEAWAY

Transported to Aaron's childhood, the warmth of the stories and the food enjoyed with family came through in every paragraph - a joy to immerse yourself in.

Emily Chung, co-author of THE RANGOON SISTERS