An Excellent New Book About National Dishes Focuses on Global Food Culture
Anya von Bremzen lays out the importance of how cuisine helps us better understand one another.
Anya von Bremzen’s expansive new book National Dish takes a deep dive into the traditional cuisines that define a country’s food culture.
Illustration: Rosie Barker for Bloomberg Businessweek
Is there any more immediate way to immerse yourself in a culture than to taste a national dish? The short answer is no. In Japan, ramen presents a quick route to considering the culinary brilliance of the country’s food and its people. In France, a serving of pot-au-feu, the brothy meat stew, offers a deep dive (into a shallow bowl) on the storied subject of French cooking.
And yet, what does a national dish really mean as cities become increasingly diverse and globalization is more rampant? That’s the focus of Anya von Bremzen’s expansive, terrific National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home (Penguin Random House, $30).