cover image THE WILDER SHORES OF GASTRONOMY: Twenty Years of the Best Food Writing from the Journal Petits Propos Culinaires

THE WILDER SHORES OF GASTRONOMY: Twenty Years of the Best Food Writing from the Journal Petits Propos Culinaires

, , foreword by Harold McGee. . Ten Speed, $24.95 (512pp) ISBN 978-1-58008-417-8

The journal Petits Propos Culinaires, brainchild of food notables Elizabeth David, Richard Olney and Alan and Jane Davidson, came into being in 1979. The founders wrote articles as did prominent contributors like Claudia Roden, Harold McGee and Jane Grigson. This anthology covers a wide range of topics and will expand readers' understanding of cuisine, its history, ingredients and personalities. Carefully edited, the book is divided into such chapters as "Scoops and Distant Beachheads"; "Biographic, Literary, People"; and "Notes and Queries." The chapter "Culinary History" includes Claudia Roden's illuminating essay "Early Arab Cooking and Cookery Manuscripts" and Caroline Davidson's "Historic Kitchen Restoration," which will intrigue both cook and historian alike. Food passions of another sort are disclosed in the chapter "Exotica." Many recipes are included within the essays, and the one chapter devoted entirely to them includes Nathan D'Aulnay's Aubergine Gratin, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz's Mole Poblano and Turkey as well as several strawberry recipes by Elizabeth David. (Jan.)