NATIONAL DISH

In National Dish award winning food writer Anya von Bremzen sets out to investigate the eternal cliché that we are what we eat Her journey takes her from Paris to Tokyo from Seville Oaxaca and Naples to Istanbul She probes the decline of France s pot au feu in the age of globalisation the stratospheric rise of ramen the legend of pizza the postcolonial paradoxes of Mexico s mole the community essence of tapas and the complex legacy of multiculturalism in a meze feast Finally she returns to her home in Queens New York for a bowl of Ukrainian borsch a dish which has never felt more loaded or more precious As each nation s social and political identity is explored so too is its palate Rich in research colourful characters and lively wit National Dish peels back the layers of myth and misunderstanding around world cuisines reassessing the pivotal role of food in our cultural heritage and identity