Described in the 2008
Saveur
100 as “At the top of our bedside reading pile since its inception in 2001,” the award-winning
Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture
is a quarterly feast of truly exceptional writing on food. Designed both to entertain and to provoke,
The Gastronomica Reader
now offers a sumptuous sampling from the journal’s pages—including essays, poetry, interviews, memoirs, and an outstanding selection of the artwork that has made
Gastronomica
so distinctive. In words and images, it takes us around the globe, through time, and into a dazzling array of cultures, investigating topics from early hominid cooking to Third Reich caterers to the Shiite clergy under Ayatollah Khomeini who deemed Iranian caviar fit for consumption under Islamic law. Informed throughout by a keen sense of the pleasures of eating, tasting, and sharing food,
will inspire readers to think seriously, widely, and deeply about what goes onto their plates.
is a winner of the
Utne Reader
's Independent Press Award for Social/Cultural Coverage