National Dish

Praise

“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

“Anya von Bremzen, already a legend of food writing and a storytelling inspiration to me, has done her best work yet. National Dish is a must-read for all those who believe in building longer tables where food is what bring us all together.” —José Andrés

“Revealing and richly detailed . . . Fans of food and travel writing will want to sink their teeth into this.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“Nobody writes about food like Anya Von Bremzen.  In this smart, personal, and compulsively readable book she takes on history, politics, love and flavor to show us the real meaning of what we eat.” —Ruth Reichl
 
“Enchanting, fascinating, thought-provoking, and humorous. Storytelling that brings people, culture, and history together through the lens of food.” —Claudia Roden, author of Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean

“Every dish tells a story.  A powerful storyteller herself, Anya von Bremzen blends historical research and beautiful writing into this absorbing crazy-smart book about how food defines who we are and where we come from. Whether she’s decoding pizza in Naples or tortillas in Mexico, Anya is your perfect guide to the profound subjects of nationalism, food, and identity. And she’s often funny as hell.” —Rene Redzepi, chef & co-owner of Noma
 
“Vivid . . . for readers who appreciate a sensorial journey and eschew arriving at easy conclusions, this will hit the spot.” —Booklist

“In this piquant platter of a book, von Bremzen tackles questions of culture, history, and the meaning of a good meal . . . Her vivid narrative is packed with intriguing characters, and in some countries, conversations about the food can be as important as the dish itself.” —Kirkus

“It’s a great pleasure to follow Anya von Bremzen as she brings her characteristic wit, curiosity, and agility as a prose stylist to make sense of this current moment in which what we eat has become so closely bound to identity. She writes with the intimacy of your most erudite friend telling you a story. This is a masterfully woven study, both edifying and entertaining, from one of the finest writers on food today.” —Mayukh Sen, author of Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America

“Any new book by Anya von Bremzen is cause for celebration for curious cooks and readers. Whether she’s writing about the hidden restaurants of Cuba, the modern chefs of Spain, or telling deeply poignant stories of the table of the Soviet Union where she grew up, she always balances the pleasures of the palate and the mind. In National Dish, she explores not just why people care about their food, but how food makes us a people.” —Francis Lam, host of The Splendid Table
 
“In this eye-opening book, Anya von Bremzen travels the world to search beyond the cliches of iconic foods like ramen, pizza, or tapas—showing us how their stories are tied to colonialism, nationalism, religion, race, and more. Full of delicious scenes, colorful characters, and fascinating historical facts, National Dish is both thought-provoking and hugely entertaining to read.” —Kwame Onwuachi, chef, author, and restaurateur
 
“Anya von Bremzen’s tour of world cuisines, from France to Japan to Turkey to Mexico, is written as both an elegant entertainment and a love letter to those cuisines. But it’s also a meditation on the paradox of national identity that will seduce the gastronomic curiosity of any world traveler.” —Lawrence Osborne, author of The Forgiven and On Java Road
 
“Anya von Bremzen’s National Dish is a revelation, giving us hard truths about where our food traditions really come from. What we cherish about great food cultures—the genuine origins, the long historical roots—turns out to be in no small part myth, and of surprisingly recent vintage, yet National Dish is an exceedingly hopeful read.” —Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and author of The Third Plate