This book is the first to apply the discoveries of the new generation of food historians worldwide to the unashamedly romantic appeal of the subject: to the culinary accomplishments of diverse civilizations, past and present, and to the pleasures of dining. The result is truly a history of taste: our most elevated, elegant and pleasurable thoughts about food - ingredients, preparation, presentation - since prehistory. From beginning to end this is an enthralling and richly illustrated story of one of the most vital clues not just to what keeps us alive, but to what makes us feel alive.