Description
Book SynopsisThe Table Comes First is at once a celebration of the rituals of eating - the scene of families, friends, lovers coming together, or breaking apart, the core of our memories - and an exploration of the extraordinary transformations that our notion of what makes food 'good' has undergone. Taking the reader from the birth of the restaurant in 18th century France to the molecular Meccas of Barcelona The Table Comes First is the delightful beginning of a new conversation about the way we eat now.
Trade Review'Like the Argentinian [Lionel Messi], Gopnik is always worth watching' Telegraph. * Telegraph *
'He may be the best food writer there is. He's certainly the most thoughtful - the most philosophical' Evening Standard. * Evening Standard *
'Extraordinary' GQ. * GQ *
'Brilliant ... flamboyant and greedy' Independent. * Independent *
'Gopnik, a brilliant writer on the New Yorker, makes a passionate case for the centrality of the table to our lives, and the binding force of sitting down to the 'nightly miracle' of dinner' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *
'Gopnik writes beautifully ... this is a lovely history of the way we think about all sorts of things' William Leith. * William Leith *
'His writing here is a high-glazed wonder' Kathryn Hughes, Guardian. * Guardian *
'These are personal essays in the fullest sense of the word, sieving the big subjects of the book's subtitle - family, France, food - through one man's well-furnished mind' Guardian. * Guardian *
'He may be the best food writer there is. He's certainly the most thoughtful - the most philosophical' Evening Standard. * Evening Standard *
Table of ContentsA Small Starter: Questions of Food. COMING TO THE TABLE: Who Made the Restaurant? What's the Recipe? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Anchovies, Bacon, Lamb. CHOOSING AT THE TABLE: How Does Taste Happen? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Lamb, Saffron, Cinnamon; Meat or Vegetables? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Chicken, Pudding, Dogs; Near or Far? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Salt, Pork, Mustard. TALKING AT THE TABLE: In Vino Veritas? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Potatoes, Steak, Air; What Do We Write About When We Write About Food? What Do We Imagine When We Imagine Food? E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Rice, Milk, Sugar. LEAVING THE TABLE: Paris at Last; E-mail to Elizabeth Pennell - Salmon, Broccoli, Repentance; Endings; Last e-mail to Elizabeth Pennell . Reading on the Way Home.
