The film is an adaptation of the autobiography of food writer Nigel Slater. The central character is given that name. In the final scene, when Freddie Highmore is given a job in the kitchens of the Savoy hotel, the person who hires him is played by the real life Nigel Slater.
This is the third time Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore play mother and son. Their first time was in Women Talking Dirty (1999), the second, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
The UK audience for the BBC1 transmission of Toast on December 30, 2010 averaged 6.2 million viewers, a 25.3% share, with another 10,000 viewers watching a later showing on the BBC HD channel.