Food Culture

Sourdough bread fueled the labor that built the Egyptian pyramids. The Roman Empire distributed free sourdough loaves to its citizens to maintain political stability. More recently, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, sourdough bread baking became a global phenomenon as people contended with being confined to their homes and sought distractions from their fear, uncertainty, and grief. In Sourdough Culture, environmental science professor Eric Pallant shows how throughout history, sourdough bread baking has always been about survival.

One of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of the Year Winner of the James Beard Award Author of #1 New York Times Bestsellers In Defense of Food and Food Rules What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with...

From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen—or just to gawk—at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world. Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own.

This is the story of the greatest might-have-been in the history of fast food. In 1971, Burger Chef Systems commanded an empire of 1,200 restaurants, adding one every 48 hours. Less than 100 locations stood between them and slower-growing McDonald's Corporation. They were winning big. Fast forward to 1982: reduced to less than half of their peak size, Burger Chef disappears from the landscape, merged into a larger rival. How did the people responsible for more fast-food innovations than any other lose their way? Author and historian John P. McDonald guides you through the experiences that ...

An innovative new take on the travel guide, Rice, Noodle, Fish decodes Japan's extraordinary food culture through a mix of in-depth narrative and insider advice. In this 5,000-mile journey through the noodle shops, tempura temples, and teahouses of Japan, Matt Goulding, cocreator of the enormously popular Eat This, Not That! book series, navigates the intersection between food, history, and culture, creating one of the most ambitious and complete books ever written about Japanese culinary culture from the Western perspective.

There are roughly 80 million Millennials in America. According to research by BBDO, half of them identify as “foodies.” They buy organic groceries, fawn over Chemex coffee, Instagram images of pork belly and spend their recession-dented incomes on high-end meals out. Young adults with degrees from prestigious universities apply their learnings to harvests instead of hedge funds. Never before has a young generation paid this much attention to food. Starting back in 2012, Millennial, Eve Turow set out on a journey to understand why. Through interviews with a variety of Millennials as well...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, a "mesmerizing" novel about the Korean-American daughter of first-generation immigrants striving to join Manhattan's inner circle (USA Today). Casey Han is a strong-willed, Queens-bred daughter of Korean immigrants immersed in a glamorous...

Read by the author and available digitally for the first time From the star of No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain's New York Times-bestselling chronicle of travelling the world in search the globe's greatest culinary adventures "Bourdain shows himself to be one of the country's best food writers...

Fast Food Nation - the groundbreaking work of investigation and cultural history that has changed the way America thinks about the way it eats - and spent nearly four months on the New York Times bestseller list - now available on cassette! Are we what we eat? To a degree both engrossing and...

How can you cheat… at drinking wine? It turns out you can. And when you do, a whole world of power, ego and money will unravel. Corked is the scandalous saga in the glamorous, competitive and mysterious world of fine wines.

Discover Paris Like a Local with the Ultimate Travel Guide Ready to explore Paris beyond the usual tourist spots? Whether it’s your first visit or a return trip, this comprehensive guide is your key to unlocking the city’s true charm. From bustling neighborhoods and iconic landmarks to authentic cuisine, rich culture, and hidden gems, Paris Travel Guide offers everything you need to experience the City of Light in a way that feels personal, effortless, and unforgettable. What You’ll Find Inside: 🏙️ Neighborhood Deep Dives — Detailed insights into Paris’s most vibrant ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER How a force that’s hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human In Against the Machine, “furiously gifted” (The Washington Post) novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original—and terrifying—account of...

#1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Food Rules Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been...

The true adventures of David Fairchild, a turn-of-the-century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocados, mangoes, seedless grapes—and thousands more—to the American plate. “Fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fast-paced adventure...

#1 New York Times Bestseller "A useful and funny purse-sized manual that could easily replace all the diet books on your bookshelf." —Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times A definitive compendium of food wisdom Eating doesn’t have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets...

The Hungry Mind - Rewriting the Story Between Food and Feelings is a compassionate and empowering guide for anyone tired of dieting, emotional eating, and the constant battle with self-image. This book isn't just about eating differently; It is designed to guide readers in understanding and healing their relationship with food by addressing the emotional, psychological, cultural, and somatic factors that drive eating behaviors. Rather than offering another diet or rigid plan, this book empowers readers to rewrite the internal narrative that links eating with self-worth, trauma, identity, ...

Explore Japan Like a Local with the Ultimate Travel Guide Ready to experience Japan beyond the standard tourist trail? Whether it’s your first visit or a return trip, this comprehensive guide is your key to unlocking the country’s real magic. From neon-lit cityscapes and ancient temples to hidden villages, world-class cuisine, and unforgettable cultural experiences, Japan Travel Guide gives you everything you need to make your journey personal, effortless, and unforgettable. What You’ll Find Inside: 🚅 Smart Travel Planning — How to choose the best time to visit, find cheap ...

From the most visible woman writing about weightlifting today, a "profoundly engrossing" memoir and manifesto about how lifting helped dissolve her allegiance to diet culture; taught her to be at home in her body; and led her to grow every kind of strength (Elizabeth Greenwood). In A Physical...

A must-have anthology of the leading Black women and femmes shaping today’s food and hospitality landscape—from farm to table and beyond—chronicling their passions and motivations, lessons learned and hard-won wisdom, personal recipes, and more. Chef and writer Klancy Miller found her own...

In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply, Vandana Shiva explores the devastating effects of commercial agriculture and genetic engineering on the food we eat, the farmers who grow it, and the soil that sustains it. This prescient critique and call to action covers some of the most pressing topics of this ongoing dialogue, from the destruction of local food cultures and the privatization of plant life, to unsustainable industrial fish farming and safety concerns about corporately engineered foods.