Fiona Ross, like most of us, leads a double existence: in her ‘normal’ life as a writer of fiction in Bishop’s Stortford, U.K., Fiona keeps company with two bossy chickens and her dog, Parsnip. She spends a lot of time fishing chickens out of her bathtub and Parsnip out of the chicken run. In between, she stares into space a lot looking for inspiration for her stories. Meanwhile, her glamorous and exciting double works as a gastro-detective whose headquarters are the famous Bodleian Library in Oxford; she spends her time there pondering which sandwich filling she would prefer for lunch when she is not hot on the trail of a famous gastronome. The Dining with Destiny series is the result of just such weighty thoughts – oh, and a short-term memory problem which means that Fiona can never recall anything important like the date of a war or how to hoover, but can always be counted upon to remember how much jam Marx liked on his tarts. Time will tell which is the more important.
The superrich have the same needs to feed themselves as do the
poorest peasants. But what they eat and in whose company they do it
make for very different experiences. Ross has plumbed the depths of
the Bodleian Library to document the eating (and mating) habits of
luminaries and royals from ancient Rome to the present. Bursting
with the juiciest morsels of gossip, Ross recounts meals consumed
by famous and notorious characters. Aristotle Onassis’ marriages
were to women who had food issues Maria Callas’ compulsive eating
and Jackie Kennedy’s hungers for both food and affection. Royals
and wannabes, from the Windsors to Grace Kelly to Nicholas II, were
prone to the most idiosyncratic eating habits. The kitchens of Hugh
Hefner’s renowned Playboy Mansion attracted guests almost as much
as his notorious bunnies. In addition to her breezy text, Ross
offers many recipes favored by these celebrities. An interesting
choice for food microhistory fans.
*Booklist*
Fiona Ross serves as our personal historical guide as we romp
through the joyous time when royalty filled their dining tables
with culinary delights with no expense spared. Each page jostles a
smile as you gain entry into a time when calories, fat and sugar
were not the enemy but instead the friend. Indeed; ignorance was
bliss!
*Sari Edelstein, PhD, RD, Professor of Nutrition, Director of the
Nutrition Student Mentor Program; Director of the Simmons-Tufts DPD
Program*
This is food history as gossip, exuberantly written. Read it with
one hand in the salt pot.
*Paul Levy, PhD, FRSL, writer and journalist; co-author of The
Official Foodie Handbook*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
