The Art of Dining Well is a step-by-step guide that will teach you everything you need to know to shine at the table. You will learn how to read table settings, how to properly hold your silverware for each of the courses, how to eat various foods, and many more of the finer points of dining skills and table manners.

This contains the author's five most popular books - "Consider the Oyster", "The Gastronomical Me", "Serve it Forth", "How to Cook a Wolf", and "An Alphabet for Gourmets". The volume contains an array of thoughts, memories and recipes.

First published in 1891, Pellegrino Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene has come to be recognized as the most significant Italian cookbook of modern times. It was reprinted thirteen times and had sold more than 52,000 copies in the years before Artusi's death in 1910, with the number of recipes growing from 475 to 790. And while this figure has not changed, the book has consistently remained in print. Although Artusi was himself of the upper classes and it was doubtful he had ever touched a kitchen utensil or lit a fire under a pot, he wrote the book not for professional chefs, as was the nineteenth-century custom, but for middle-class family cooks: housewives and their domestic helpers. His tone is that of a friendly advisor – humorous and nonchalant. He indulges in witty anecdotes about many of the recipes, describing his experiences and the historical relevance of particular dishes. Artusi's masterpiece is not merely a popular cookbook; it is a landmark work in Italian culture. This English edition (first published by Marsilio Publishers in 1997) features a delightful introduction by Luigi Ballerini that traces the fascinating history of the book and explains its importance in the context of Italian history and politics. The illustrations are by the noted Italian artist Giuliano Della Casa.

The Edible Monument considers the elaborate architecture, sculpture, and floats made of food that were designed for court and civic celebrations in early modern Europe. These include popular festivals such as Carnival and the Italian Cuccagna. Like illuminations and fireworks, ephemeral artworks made of food were not well documented and were challenging to describe because they were perishable and thus quickly consumed or destroyed. In times before photography and cookbooks, there were neither literary models nor a repertoire of conventional images for how food and its preparation should be explained or depicted. Although made for consumption, food could also be a work of art, both as a special attraction and as an expression of power. Formal occasions and spontaneous celebrations drew communities together, while special foods and seasonal menus revived ancient legends, evoking memories and recalling shared histories, values, and tastes. Drawing on books, prints, and scrolls that document festival arts, elaborate banquets, and street feasts, the essays in this volume examine the mythic themes and personas employed to honor and celebrate rulers; the methods, materials, and wares used to prepare, depict, and serve food; and how foods such as sugar were transformed to express political goals or accomplishments. This book is published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Getty Research Institute from October 13, 2015, to March 23, 2016.

" ....a brilliant marriage of historical picture research, well-chosen recipes, and historical narrative..." Taste " ...the best single treatment of British food history that we have seen for years - or possibly ever." Anne Willan, Petits Propos Culinaires A reissue of the classic reference work on the history of cooking and eating. Behind the curious ingredients and mysterious language of old cookery books lies a completely different world, where the foods that we take for granted were often not available, their preparation, cooking and preservation were laborious and skilful tasks, and the art of dining reflected social attitudes quite removed from modern culinary practice. The Art of Dining includes historical recipes, together with their modern adaptations and covers Medieval, EarlyTudor, Elizabethan, Stuart, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods. Sara Paston-Williams has used the great wealth of National Trust houses and records to produce this wonderful book which is a feast for the eye as well as a fascinating guide to all the arts of dining.