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Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past
by Taras Grescoe
In the tradition of Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain, and Mark Bittman, an exciting and globe-trotting account of ancient cuisines—from Neolithic bread to ancient Roman fish sauce—and why reviving the foods of the past is the key to saving the future.
Many of us are worried (or at least we should be) about the impacts of globalization, pollution, and biotechnology on our diets. Whether it's monoculture crops, hormone-fed beef, or high-fructose corn syrup, industrially-produced foods have troubling consequences for us and the planet. But as culinary diversity diminishes, many people are looking to a surprising place to safeguard the future: into the past.
The Lost Supper explores an idea that is quickly spreading among restaurateurs, food producers, scientists, and gastronomes around the world: that the key to healthy and sustainable eating lies not in looking forward, but in looking back to the foods that have sustained us through our half-million-year existence as a species.
Acclaimed author Taras Grescoe introduces readers to the surprising and forgotten flavors whose revival is captivating food-lovers around the world: ancient sourdough bread last baked by Egyptian pharaohs; raw-milk farmhouse cheese from critically endangered British dairy cattle; ham from Spanish pata negra pigs that have been foraging on acorns on a secluded island since before the United States was a nation; and olive oil from wild olive trees uniquely capable of resisting quickly evolving pests and modern pathogens.
From Ancient Roman fish sauce to Aztec caviar to the long-thought-extinct silphium, The Lost Supper is a deep dive into the latest frontier of global gastronomy—the archaeology of taste. Through vivid writing, history, and first-hand culinary experience, Grescoe sets out a provocative case: in order to save these foods, he argues, we've got to eat them.
"A surprising, flavorsome tour of ancient cuisines demonstrating how the way forward involves looking back...Grescoe writes with color, energy, and humor, and the result is a fascinating book that leaves you hungry for more." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Grescoe sets out an illuminating analysis of "dwindling nutritional diversity," what a more sustainable, nutritionally varied future might look like, and how food systems should change to get there... This is worth a look."
—Publishers Weekly
"The Lost Supper... thrills with its escapist, aspirational appeal and ripped-from the-headlines documentary qualities. Surprising, often enthralling, facts about the past anchor Grescoe's trips... The book excels at bridging these deep histories with the present, resulting in the immediacy of an epicurean and archaeological adventure... Covering a global culinary adventure, The Lost Supper melds food history with culinary derring-do."
—Forward Reviews
"In vivid and engaging prose, Grescoe makes the case that we shouldn't blame farming for our ills, but rather we need to return to ancient techniques and breeds. By remembering the diversity of forgotten foods we once ate, he argues that we can rebuild the health and resilience we've lost. The Lost Supper weaves fascinating history with delightful culinary adventure and will entrance anyone who's longed to taste the flavors of the past."
—Gina Rae La Cerva, author of Feasting Wild
"A treasure map that guides us to the delicious and nutritious foods that could very well save our species."
—Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish
"A fresh look at our wild roots, from the true meaning of paleo (eating termites) to the dawn of monoculture and the collapse of culinary (and agricultural) diversity."
—Matt Siegel, author of The Secret History of Food
This information about The Lost Supper was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Taras Grescoe is the author of seven nonfiction books and a widely read commentator on the interplay of food, travel, and the environment. His journalism has been published in many of the world's leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the Guardian, and National Geographic. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.
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