Search results for ""author anya von bremzen""

AN ENTERTAINING AND STYLISH EXPLORATION OF FOOD AND NATIONALITY, FROM AWARD-WINNING WRITER ANYA VON BREMZEN 'This voyage into culinary myth-making is essential reading... I couldn't love it more!' Nigella Lawson 'A truly captivating and evocative book. National Dish takes you on a food journey written with real warmth, wit and perception' Dan Saladino 'A sparklingly intelligent examination of, and a meditation on, the interplay of cooking and identity' Spectator ________ 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 borscht -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. Featuring an epilogue on Ukrainian borscht, recently granted World Heritage status by UNESCO ________ FURTHER PRAISE FOR NATIONAL DISH 'So enlightening - as well as well so much fun to read... Von Bremzen is a superb describer of flavours and textures' Bee Wilson Financial Times A fast-paced, entertaining travelogue, peppered with compact history lessons that reveal the surprising ways dishes become iconic' New York Times 'Enchanting, fascinating, thought provoking and humorous' Claudia Roden 'A playful, erudite and mouthwatering exploration of ideas around food and identity. With the help of a diverse group of characters and dishes, Anya von Bremzen highlights the intricacies and contradictions of our relationship with what we eat' Fuschia Dunlop 'Anya von Bremzen's new book reads like an engrossing unputdownable novel about the perpetual soup of humanity' Oli Hercules 'An evocative, gorgeously layered exercise in place-making and cultural exploration...'Boston Globe 'Von Bremzen's knowledge is staggering and her writing witty, urgent and personal. I couldn't put it down' Diana Henry

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Travelling from Paris to Tokyo, from Seville, Oaxaca and Naples to Istanbul, she investigates the rapid decline of France's pot-au-feu, the misconstrued beginnings of pizza, the meeting of indigenous and European lineages in mole, and the complex legacy of multi-culturalism in a meze potluck."Never have we been more cosmopolitan about what we eat - and yet more essentialist, locavore, and particularist." With a witty mix of anecdote and research, Anya von Bremzen reassess the fascinating role that food can play in our cultural heritage, and uncovers how as a nation's political and social identity are called into question, so too is its palate.'A fast-paced, entertaining travelogue, peppered with compact history lessons that reveal the surprising ways dishes become iconic' -New York Times'This dazzlingly intelligent examination of how foods become national symbols . . . so enlightening - as well as so much fun to read . . . Von Bremzen is a superb describer of flavours and textures - but she also understands that food is never just about food' -Bee Wilson in Financial Times

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A Book of the Year in the FT, Guardian, Observer and on BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme'I couldn't love this more' Nigella Lawson'Enchanting, fascinating and humorous' Claudia RodenIs there really such a thing as an authentic dish? In a mouth-watering journey stretching from Paris to Tokyo, join award-winning food writer Anya von Bremzen as she chews over the legend of Margherita pizza, indulges in the craze for high-end noodles and digs into the postcolonial paradoxes of Mexico's mole.Full of eye-opening tales and sparkling wit, National Dish explores the politics of national pride that tie food to place, untangling the myths and misunderstandings around some of the world's most famous cuisines.________________PRAISE FOR NATIONAL DISH:'Sparklingly intelligent' SPECTATOR'A delightfully engaged and engaging writer' OBSERVER'So enli

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Born in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen, Anya von Bremzen grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy and, finally, intolerable. In 1974, when Anya was ten, she and her mother fled to the USA, with no winter coats and no right of return. These days, Anya is the doyenne of high-end food writing. And yet, the flavour of Soviet kolbasa, like Proust's madeleine, transports her back to that vanished Atlantis known as the USSR .In this sweeping, tragicomic memoir, Anya recreates seven decades of the Soviet experience through cooking and food, and reconstructs a moving family history spanning three generations. Her narrative is embedded in a larger historical epic: Lenin's bloody grain requisitioning, World War II starvation, Stalin's table manners, Khrushchev's kitchen debates, Gorbachev's disastrous anti-alcohol policies and the ultimate collapse of the USSR. And all of this is bound together by Anya's sardonic wit, passionate nostalgia and piercing observations. Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a book that stirs the soul as well as the senses.

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The first book to tell the mesmerizing story of the new Cuban cuisine. A narrative and visual feast from James Beard Award–winning writer Anya von Bremzen and photographer Megan Fawn Schlow—with more than 100 vibrant recipes. Cuba is experiencing a cultural and culinary renaissance—and its paladares, the private restaurants, are leading the way. Paladares is a fascinating culinary and visual journey through the new Cuba. Born in Soviet Russia in the era of shortages, award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen brings a unique perspective to the stories that Cuba’s chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food historians share with her. She eavesdrops on passionate arguments about black beans and tamales; pries Daiquirí secrets from legendary El Floridita (Hemingway’s watering hole); guides us to vibrant agros (markets) and visionary organic farms. We learn of Fidel’s obsession with cows, milk, and ice cream. We hear wrenching memories of the Período Especial, the years of terrible privation after Soviet aid vanished. We meet colorful expats who fell for Cuba and ended up opening restaurants—and local hipsters who obsess over global culture gleaned solely from foreign movies and magazines. Fawn Schlow’s evocative photographs frame it all with the ramshackle glamour of old Havana, Cuba’s stunning countryside, dishes that are earthy and innovative, and Cuba’s incredible people. The more than 100 recipes in Paladares are as intriguing as the characters behind them. Traditional Cuban bean pots, saucy picadillo, crunchy fritters, soulful tamales, Roast Chicken Stuffed with Black Beans and Rice—and a Gulf Stream of cocktails—are all featured here. But the recipes also reflect the current aspiration of Cuban cooks to finally catch up with the world through dishes such as Pumpkin Soup with Blue Cheese, Ceviche with Mango and Black-Eyed Peas, or Coffee-Rubbed Pork. Cuba’s culinary culture is being reborn, and Paladares joyously savors this revolution.

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