National Dish

"'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 'Entertaining' -Independent 'In this lively blend of travelogue, food writing and cultural critique, Anya von Bremzen explores the idea of the ""national dish"" ... [and] calls for food preparation, writing - and of course eating - to be treated with greater political significance than we typically give it' -New Statesman 'New and compelling... For all its dry wit and vivid descriptions of puttanesca and tortillas, this is a serious book - a skilful blend of academic research and lived experience. It's a sparklingly intelligent examination of, and a meditation on, the interplay of cooking and identity' - Spectator '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, Financial Times"