Publication Date: 07/09/2023 ISBN: 9781911590880 Category: Tag:

National Dish

Anya von Bremzen

Publisher: Pushkin Press
Publication Date: 07/09/2023 ISBN: 9781911590880 Category: Tag:
Hardback

£22.00

Become the envy of all book lovers with your own Mr B’s sticker to show off where you do your shopping.

Quantity:

Mr B's review

How do certain foods become national dishes? This book grabs a fork and digs into this question, looking at the history of some of the world’s most iconic fare. From Pizza Margherita in Naples to ramen in Tokyo, National Dish serves up concise, digestible history with a hearty side of sizzling sensory description. A joyful and inquisitive ode to our best loved dishes – this book is a food-lover’s dream!

Description

AN ENTERTAINING AND STYLISH EXPLORATION OF FOOD AND NATIONALITY, FROM AWARD-WINNING WRITER ANYA VON BREMZEN

‘This voyage into culinary myth-making is essential reading… I couldn’t love it more!’ Nigella Lawson

‘A truly captivating and evocative book. National Dish takes you on a food journey written with real warmth, wit and perception’ Dan Saladino

‘A sparklingly intelligent examination of, and a meditation on, the interplay of cooking and identity’ Spectator

________

In National Dish, award-winning food writer Anya von Bremzen sets out to investigate the eternal cliche that “we are what we eat”. Her journey takes her from Paris to Tokyo, from Seville, Oaxaca and Naples to Istanbul. She probes the decline of France’s pot-au-feu in the age of globalisation, the stratospheric rise of ramen, the legend of pizza, the postcolonial paradoxes of Mexico’s mole, the community essence of tapas, and the complex legacy of multiculturalism in a meze feast. Finally she returns to her home in Queens, New York, for a bowl of Ukrainian borscht -a dish which has never felt more loaded, or more precious.

As each nation’s social and political identity is explored, so too is its palate. Rich in research, colourful? characters and lively wit, National Dish peels back the layers of myth and misunderstanding around world cuisines, reassessing the pivotal role of food in our cultural heritage and identity.

Featuring an epilogue on Ukrainian borscht, recently granted World Heritage status by UNESCO

________

FURTHER PRAISE FOR NATIONAL DISH

So enlightening – as well as well so much fun to read… Von Bremzen is a superb describer of flavours and textures’ Bee Wilson Financial Times

A fast-paced, entertaining travelogue, peppered with compact history lessons that reveal the surprising ways dishes become iconic’ New York Times

Enchanting, fascinating, thought provoking and humorous‘ Claudia Roden

‘A playful, erudite and mouthwatering exploration of ideas around food and identity. With the help of a diverse group of characters and dishes, Anya von Bremzen highlights the intricacies and contradictions of our relationship with what we eat’ Fuschia Dunlop

‘Anya von Bremzen’s new book reads like an engrossing unputdownable novel about the perpetual soup of humanity’ Oli Hercules

‘An evocative, gorgeously layered exercise in place-making and cultural exploration…’Boston Globe

‘Von Bremzen’s knowledge is staggering and her writing witty, urgent and personal. I couldn’t put it down’ Diana Henry

Publisher Review

‘A fast-paced, entertaining travelogue, peppered with compact history lessons that reveal the surprising ways dishes become iconic’ – New York Times

‘This voyage into culinary myth-making and identity is essential reading. Its breadth of scope and scholarship is conveyed with such engaging wit. I couldn’t love it more’ – Nigella Lawson

‘Enchanting, fascinating, thought provoking and humorous’ – Claudia Roden

‘Anya von Bremzen’s new book reads like an engrossing unputdownable novel about the perpetual soup of humanity. And it made me think so much!’ – Olia Hercules

‘A quest to get to the heart of culinary identity and myth-making, von Bremzem’s knowledge is staggering and her writing witty, urgent and personal. I couldn’t put it down’ – Diana Henry

Find this book on the following lists

Book experts at your service

What are you looking for?

A recommendation
Something specific
  • Mr B's Recommendation Station
  • Fill in the three questions below, along with your name and email address, and our book experts will be in touch soon with their personal recommendations

  • I'm after something specific
  • Tell us about the book, author or subject you're looking for, along with your name and email address and our book experts will be in touch as soon as possible