Uncook Yourself, by Nat’s What I Reckon

Subtitled A Ratbag’s Rules for Life, this is part memoir, part self-help from the YouTuber comedian who has become a surprise celebrity chef. His no-nonsense, sweary cooking videos became essential viewing during COVID restrictions and helped propel him to international stardom. The self-taught cook aims to demonstrate that it’s not that hard to cook good food from scratch. He encourages people to give it a go and ditch processed monstrosities such as pre-made jar sauce. The book details some of the serious physical and mental health issues Nat has faced since childhood and offers his thoughts on how he has overcome them. His honest and down-to-earth style is endearing, with an underlying philosophy based on kindness. The overall tone is one of casual cheerfulness, which accurately reflects his on-screen persona – complete with swears. So anyone uncomfortable with the F-word should steer well clear. The striking yellow and black cover design is echoed throughout the text, which is interesting and useful on the illustrated pages, but annoying and unnecessary when used to highlight random paragraphs. Recipes punctuate the chapters, depicted in an amusing and entertaining graphic novel style. Fuck jar sauce!