PublishedQuercus, December 2011 |
ISBN9781849162869 |
FormatHardcover, 304 pages |
Dimensions24.4cm × 15.2cm × 2.9cm |
Our modern society is very particular about what constitutes good food: local, seasonal, organic produce that doesn't overly impact on the environment. But throughout history every generation has believed that it alone knows the true value of food, and looked with distaste on the culinary practices of its predecessors.
Not so long ago eating food from around the world was the mark of the cultural sophisticate. In 'The Table Comes First' Adam Gopnik envisions a new "physiology of taste" which will enable us to dispense with this moralising attitude and concentrate on the pleasure principle: food is to be enjoyed, and to help us enjoy life in turn. Above all the dining table should be the heart of the family, the place where all real family begins.