Tastes and Traditions

A Journey through Menu History

Nathalie Cooke

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Reaktion Books
01 July 2025

Social & cultural history; Food & society; Cookery, food & drink

Menus are invaluable snapshots of the food consumed in specific moments in time and place. Tastes and Traditions: A Journey through Menu History provides glimpses into the meals enjoyed by royalty and rogues, and by those celebrating special occasions, or sampling new culinary sensations, throughout history. It describes food prepared for the gods, meals served during sieges and tablescapes immortalized in art. It explores how menus entertain adults, link food with play for children, reflect changing notions of health and highlight the enduring human need to make meals meaningful.

Lavishly illustrated, this book offers an engaging exploration of why menus matter and the stories they tell, appealing to food lovers and general readers, as well as professionals in the food industry.

'This illustrated history of the menu explores how they shed light on culinary trends and reflect evolving notions of what's healthy.'

Publishers Weekly (Spring 2025 Fiction & Nonfiction Preview: Cooking & Food)

'Every page in this book is a work of art, stimulating the imagination as well as the appetite.'

Jeffrey M. Pilcher, University of Toronto

By: Nathalie Cooke
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 250mm, Width: 190mm,
ISBN: 9781836390671
ISBN 10: 183639067X
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Nathalie Cooke is Professor of English at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her books include Canadian Literary Fare (with Shelley Boyd, 2023), winner of the 2024 Gabrielle Roy Prize, and What's to Eat? Entrees in Canadian Food History (2009).

Reviews for Tastes and Traditions: A Journey through Menu History

""Every page in this book is a work of art, stimulating the imagination as well as the appetite.""--Jeffrey M. Pilcher, University of Toronto ""This is a book for all of us who've been tempted to swipe a memorable menu. Brilliantly illustrated and argued, this is a tantalizing history of the restaurant menu as a cultural artifact. From the 'menu French' of fine dining restaurants to the racist imagery of notable American chains, Tastes and Traditions explains how menus give meaning to our meals.""--Daniel E. Bender, Canada Research Chair in Food and Culture, University of Toronto, and author of ""The Food Adventurers: How Around-the-World Travel Changed the Way We Eat""