National Dish

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 reassesses 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