From all over Europe from Scotland to the Mediterranean, from Hungary to Cornwall, Elisabeth Luard has collected descriptions of traditional feasts and festivals -- many of which she has experienced first hand -- and hundreds of recipes for the dishes appropriate to them. As well as being a unique and wonderfully readable cookery book, Seasonal European Dishes (originally published under the title of European Festival Food) is written with the scrupulous attention to detail and authenticity that is the hallmark of Elisabeth Luards cookery writing, the recipes are peppered with hundreds of fascinating anecdotes and little known facts about local history and folklore. Starting with December the book is organized according to the months of the year and so it importantly also reminds us of the cycle of seasonality that is now once again regarded as the natural and much more enjoyable way to shop and eat. Elisabeth Luard is an award-winning food-writer and a winner of the much coveted Glenfiddich Trophy. In the 90s she covered regional cooking in Britain for Country Living and was the food-columnist of The Scotsman and The Telegraph. She is the food columnist for The Oldie and a contributing editor to Waitrose Food Illustrated as well as many national newspapers.