IN GOOD TASTE: WHAT SHAPES WHAT WE EAT AND DRINK – AND WHY IT MATTERS BY MALLIKA BASU

As conversations around food become increasingly complex, Mallika Basu's In Good Taste offers a clear and accessible guide to the issues shaping our food choices. Fiona Richmond, Head of Regional Food at Scotland Food & Drink, reviews a book that encourages us all to become more informed tastemakers and changemakers.

There’s never been more noise about food and drink. We’re surrounded by buzzwords, marketing campaigns, endless choice. As readers of this magazine, we love food and the joy and pleasure it brings. We get excited about what’s for dinner or where to eat out. 

In Good Taste, by food writer and presenter Mallika Basu, asks us to consider deeper questions, which may be on our minds to varying degrees as we go about making our food choices. Is it locally produced? Has the farmer or grower been paid a fair price? Has it been produced in a way that cares for the environment? What really goes on behind the scenes with our food? Who controls it and why? Where does the power lie? Why do so many go hungry while others have too much? Do we need to worry about being food secure, with all these global crises, from wars and climate change? What can we do about the vast amount of food that’s thrown away/wasted? Is it okay to eat avocadoes? 

We know we’re part of a global food system, which brings both good and bad things, but there’s a lot to hurt our heads and challenge us, in a way that can feel overwhelming and, let’s face it, downright depressing at times.

But if there’s someone to make this subject a little bit easier, it’s Mallika. A food writer and educator of more than 20 years, author of two Indian cookbooks and curator of the British Library Food series, her style is extremely accessible (you’ll see this if you follow her on Instagram – her energy is infectious).

Rooted in real life, where choices are often governed by convenience and cost, she doesn’t want to be preachy but rather simplify some of these big issues. One of the many things I like about this book is the way it’s broken down into chunks – after setting the scene, it covers Players, People, Planet and Positive, Practical Change, with guest contributions from fellow experts and a summary of key takeaways at the end.  There’s also a very helpful definition of food systems, as well as a brilliant Appendix that provides the meanings of many of the terms we hear bandied about now, from cultural appropriation to nature-based solutions to regenerative agriculture and carbon neutral. 

Most important of all, she shows us that, no matter our circumstances, there are steps we can all take to contribute to a better food system, whether that be supporting businesses that are trying to make a difference; being careful about what we post and share on social media (for example, checking the reliability of the source; be a bit more questioning and supporting those who are being balanced and constructive; calling out those who are being misleading) or getting on top of our own personal food waste and connecting with how food is produced and sold. That way, we can all be ‘tastemakers’ and ‘changemakers’.

And as Scotland continues its path to become a Good Food Nation, with a Scottish Food Commission in place to advise on its delivery, understanding the food system is something of even greater relevance close to home. 

I’ll leave the last word to one of the world’s greatest food activists, Vandana Shiva, whose wise and renowned words are quoted in the book:

‘Eating is an ecological act, eating is a political act. Eating is a health act. And eating is an act of solidarity’.

In Good Taste, published by Nine Bean Rows, 2026, is available from all good bookshops

For further info about Mallika - https://mallikabasu.com/ 

Follow her on Instagram @mallikabasu