National Dish : Around the World in Search of Food, History and the Meaning of Home

In National Dish, acclaimed food writer Anya von Bremzen sets out to investigate the eternal cliche that "we are what we eat".

Travelling from Paris to Tokyo, from Seville, Oaxaca and Naples to Istanbul, she investigates the rapid decline of France's pot-au-feu, the misconstrued beginnings of pizza, the meeting of indigenous and European lineages in mole, and the complex legacy of multi-culturalism in a meze potluck. "Never have we been more cosmopolitan about what we eat - and yet more essentialist, locavore, and particularist." With a witty mix of anecdote and research, Anya von Bremzen reassess the fascinating role that food can play in our cultural heritage, and uncovers how as a nation's political and social identity are called into question, so too is its palate. 'A fast-paced, entertaining travelogue, peppered with compact history lessons that reveal the surprising ways dishes become iconic' - New York Times'This dazzlingly intelligent examination of how foods become national symbols . . . so enlightening - as well as so much fun to read . . . Von Bremzen is a superb describer of flavours and textures - but she also understands that food is never just about food' - Bee Wilson in Financial Times