Menus from History Two Volumes: Historic Meals and Recipes for Every Day of the Year
Menus from History: Historic Meals and Recipes for Every Day of the Year offers a fascinating exploration of dining history through historic menus from more than 35 countries. Ranging from discussion of a Roman banquet in A.D. 70 to a meal for former South African President Nelson Mandela in the 1990s, the menus offer students and general readers a thoroughly delightful way to learn more about events and the cultures in which they occurred. Royal feasts, soldier grub, shipboard and spaceship...
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A year's worth of fascinating menus from significant occasions in history around the world offer a thoroughly delightful way to learn more about noteworthy events and people, social classes, and morés. Library Journal This two-volume set by culinary historian Clarkson, who writes the food blog "The Old Foodie," should not really be considered a scholarly work, but its content does provide a worldly view within the context of food history. The introduction clearly articulates the degree to which food reflects the history, culture, time, and place of its origin. And, yes, expansion into new territories was premised on the search for spices and for land to grow food. While oral history has a place in understanding culture, peoples, languages, and societies, the historic meals and recipes for every day of the year bring to life events in history framed around the food prepared and eaten at various festivities. The content and scope of this work covers historic menus from more than 35 countries. A Roman banquet in 70 AD; a Medici Wedding Feast, June 4, 1469, Palazzo Medici, Florence; and a July 13, 1900, United States of America, Dinner at the Thirteenth Club, Central Restaurant, New York are just a sample of interesting and exciting menus found in this work. To that end, the 365 daily menus are arranged chronologically, by occasion and by country. The first menu is January 1, New Year's Day Meal, Kosseir, Egypt, 1828, and the last is December 31, Final Dinner Party given by François Mitterand, Souston, Landes, France, 1995. From this brief selection, the charm, taste, and atmosphere gleaned from the time, event, country, and occasions are quite clear. Each entry has a name, description, significance, and menu and analysis, with the provenance authenticated on all but a small handful with a "best guess." Since menus lend themselves nicely to an online environment, the ebook version of this work wouldpresent itself well in function and usability. BOTTOM LINE More comprehensive than The Food Timeline(www.foodtimeline.org)—a free food history reference site—though not as scholarly as Alan Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food (2006. 2d ed.), this is recommended for culinary institutions as well as school and public libraries.—Marianne E. Giltrud, Catholic Univ. of America Libs., Washington, DC
\ From the Publisher"Janet Clarkson, a food historian and writer in Australia, has created a unique reference source that combines food with history. . . . Menus from History will be useful in both public and academic libraries for culinary students, historians, social scientists, and students doing reports."\ -\ ARBAonline\ "Each entry has a name, description, significance, and menu and analysis, with the provenance authenticated on all but a small handful with a "best guess." Since menus lend themselves nicely to an online environment, the ebook version of this work would present itself well in function and usability. BOTTOM LINE More comprehensive than The Food Timeline (www.foodtimeline.org)—a free food history reference site…this is recommended for culinary institutions as well as school and public libraries."\ -\ Library Journal\ "What did Jane Austen and Abraham Lincoln have for supper? What do menus teach us about people and the societies in which they lived? This work compiles 365 menus from 35 countries and from all sorts of historic occasions. Ranging from a Roman banquet in A.D. 70, to spaceship meals, to Elvis and Priscilla's wedding celebration, the menus offer students and general readers a fun way to learn about significant events and cultures. Each menu includes a brief description of the original historic occasion, plus notes on the dishes and preparations, and instructions from period cookbooks. The book includes a glossary of food terms and names of dishes. To aid in finding specific items, menus are listed chronologically, by country, and by occasion."\ -\ Reference & Research Book News\ "Overall, the set is unique and interesting to read. It is of more interest as social history than as a cookbook and is recommended for libraries with cookery-history collections. It might also find a home in a public library where patrons seek out unusual menu and recipe ideas."\ -\ Booklist\ \ \ \ \ \ Library JournalThis two-volume set by culinary historian Clarkson, who writes the food blog "The Old Foodie," should not really be considered a scholarly work, but its content does provide a worldly view within the context of food history. The introduction clearly articulates the degree to which food reflects the history, culture, time, and place of its origin. And, yes, expansion into new territories was premised on the search for spices and for land to grow food. While oral history has a place in understanding culture, peoples, languages, and societies, the historic meals and recipes for every day of the year bring to life events in history framed around the food prepared and eaten at various festivities. The content and scope of this work covers historic menus from more than 35 countries. A Roman banquet in 70 AD; a Medici Wedding Feast, June 4, 1469, Palazzo Medici, Florence; and a July 13, 1900, United States of America, Dinner at the Thirteenth Club, Central Restaurant, New York are just a sample of interesting and exciting menus found in this work. To that end, the 365 daily menus are arranged chronologically, by occasion and by country. The first menu is January 1, New Year's Day Meal, Kosseir, Egypt, 1828, and the last is December 31, Final Dinner Party given by François Mitterand, Souston, Landes, France, 1995. From this brief selection, the charm, taste, and atmosphere gleaned from the time, event, country, and occasions are quite clear. Each entry has a name, description, significance, and menu and analysis, with the provenance authenticated on all but a small handful with a "best guess." Since menus lend themselves nicely to an online environment, the ebook version of this work wouldpresent itself well in function and usability. BOTTOM LINE More comprehensive than The Food Timeline(www.foodtimeline.org)—a free food history reference site—though not as scholarly as Alan Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food (2006. 2d ed.), this is recommended for culinary institutions as well as school and public libraries.—Marianne E. Giltrud, Catholic Univ. of America Libs., Washington, DC\ \
