Front cover of Knives and Spoons by Alasdair Gill, hardback

Knives and Spoons : A Chef's Story of Kitchens, Addictions and Mayhem - Alasdair Gill

Alasdair Gill

£20.00
  • Pages · 336 pages
  • Publication Date · 09/07/2026
  • Genre · Memoirs
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →

A vital new voice who speaks so powerfully about addiction' - Bryony Gordon, journalist
'It'll show all those who love The Bear how to really tear up a kitchen' - Camilla Long, journalist
'Gill's funny, eye-opening and lyrical kitchen memoir is a must' - Stylist
'Magnificent, brutally honest and very funny . . . I never wanted it to stop' - Jon Spiteri, restaurateur
'Ali gives a proper insight into not only how he has worked, but into how he has thought . . . Do learn from him' - Jeremy King, restaurateur'A story of hope, love, cooking and redemption. Brilliant' - Tom Parker-Bowles, food writer and criticFrom working in some of London's most prestigious restaurants to scrubbing fat from kitchen floors, Alasdair Gill's life as a chef has been a series of exhilarating highs and harrowing lows. But so too has his private life. Taking readers behind the swinging kitchen doors of London's dining scene, he shows us the major contradictions in his life, from crossing paths with Anthony Bourdain and preparing dishes for the ultra wealthy to hiding in drug-fuelled kitchen dens and a wake-up call that nearly ended his life. Knives and Spoons is a raw and honest look at the chaotic and often toxic world of professional kitchens, filled with fierce and unforgiving moments, but also a testament to the power of finding one's craft and the long road to recovery. For readers of Kitchen Confidential and Tart, this is a candid insider account of life on the frontlines of London's food scene.

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.