culinary history

The ‘historic’ national dishes which turn out to be artful PR exercises

19 August 2023 9:00 am

Japan’s ramen ‘tradition’ was created in 1958 to use up surplus imported flour, while Pizza Margherita’s specious royal connection helped boost Naples’s tourist trade

We shouldn’t be so squeamish about eating foie gras

15 May 2021 9:00 am

In his excellent, brief chronicle of foie gras, Norman Kolpas lists Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Thandie Newton, Ricky Gervais and…

Chilli con carnage: the red hot pepper and communism

20 June 2020 9:00 am

These days it is as hard to imagine Sichuanese food without chillies as it is to imagine Italian food without…