An invitation to 12 historic dinner parties is offered by a dining historian who gracefully transverses ten centuries in Western history to answer the question, "What does it mean to dine?" of full-color photos; b&w illustrations throughout.

The Oxford Symposium on Food on Cookery is a premier English conference on this topic. The subjects range from the food of medieval English and Spanish Jews; wild boar in Europe; the identity of liquamen and other Roman sauces; the production of vinegar in the Philippines; the nature of Indian restaurant food; and food in 19th century Amsterdam.