The Theory and Practice of Lunch

Newspaper columnist, novelist, playwright and screenwriter, Keith Waterhouse was a key figure on the media scene in midcentury London – and much of his networking was conducted over lunch.

Starting out on The Daily Mirror at the age of twenty-three Waterhouse took to that most important Fleet Street tradition – lunch - like a duck to water. So much so that in time he wrote his own homage to the joys, and the pitfalls, of this most agreeable midday event.

When is a lunch a working lunch, and when might it be a prelude to an afternoon tryst? Which kind of restaurant is appropriate for these different occasions? Should you go to a ‘see and be seen’ establishment, or opt for discretion?

The Theory and Practice of Lunch was originally published in 1974 so of course most of the hotspots Waterhouse name checks are long gone. But, though food fads and restaurants come and go, some things never change. Will your waiter try and seat you at the worst table, over by the loos? Will he/she bring your companion’s starter and then yours ten minutes later? How much, if any, alcohol should be consumed?

If anyone earned the epithet ‘a legend in his own lunchtime’ it was Keith Waterhouse, who listed ‘lunch’ as his only hobby in his WhosWho entry. This warm, witty and hilarious guide to his favourite pastime is a genuine delight and a classic of food writing, littered with bon mots to delight the modern luncher.

Praise for The Theory and Practice of Lunch:

‘Friendship and lunch went together. It is difficult to know which of the two commitments he thought the more important. Perhaps a clue lies in the fact that it was The Theory and Practice of Lunch about which he wrote a book’ - Roy Hattersley, The Guardian

‘In recent decades, the institution of lunch, or at least the kind Waterhouse venerates – three courses, three hours, plenty to drink, maybe the start or end of an affair – has taken a battering’ - Ed Cumming, Vogue

Keith Waterhouse was born in Leeds in 1929. The son of a costermonger, he worked first at the Yorkshire Post before moving to London, where he began a long career at the Daily Mirror. He published a number of novels, including Billy Liar and Office Life. He wrote the script for hit play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell and for many films, including Whistle Down the Wind. During his time at the Mirror he campaigned against the colour bar in Britain as well as other liberal causes. He died in 2009 at his home in London.