Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the 1999 Versailles World
Cookbook Fair Award For Best Culinary
History, English Language
In Leslie Brenner's "witty and sumptuous" look at the history of the American food revolution, an award-winning food writer traces a fascinating culinary heritage and looks to a promising future. Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans feasted on regional ingredients like Olympia oysters, fresh herbs, and wild fowl. Now the best American chefs are returning to those roots. How did we get here? From the Puritan diet to Prohibition, from Julia Child through waves of immigration in the 1960s, Brenner traces the evolution of a national cuisine in delicious detail. Highlighted by interviews with Ameria's leading culinary innovators, including Julia Child, Alice Waters, and Robert Mondavi--and aided by heaping dollops of wit and opinion--Brenner serves up a singular history of American cuisine that will be of deep interest to anyone who loves to eat well.About the Author
LESLIE BRENNER is the author of Fear of Wine and The Art of the Cocktail Party as well as the co-author of Essential Flavors. Recipient of a 1996 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Magazine Feature Writing, she has pursued a lifelong interest in food and wine. A member of Culinary Historians of New York, Leslie is also a lecturer in Culinary History at The New School in New York City. She has written on a wide variety of subjects; in addition to gastronomy, she has published articles on politics, immigration, psychology, literature, sexuality, medicine, business, and women's issues for publications including Harper's and The New York Times. In 1998 Leslie published a novel in France; she is presently at work on her next epicurean book project, forthcoming from Avon Books.