Critique de CHOICE

Tebben (Bard College at Simon's Rock) adds to Greenwood's excellent series "The Global Kitchen," which also includes Michael Ashkenazi's Food Cultures of Israel (2021) and Bruce Kraig's Food Cultures of the United States (CH, Sep'20, 58-0234). Consistent with the other books in this reference series, an introduction precedes 10 chapters, beginning with "Food History" and "Influential Ingredients" before chapters dedicated to dish type: appetizers, main dishes, beverages, street food, etc. The special chapters "Dining Out" and "Food Issues and Dietary Concerns" complete the text. In her introduction, Tebben writes that "... French food represents a patchwork of tradition, borrowings, and inputs from immigrant cuisine ... resisted and sometimes adopted, according to the will of the people. New trends will be incorporated alongside the classics, and French food will always be at once old and new" (p. xiii). The book is well researched, drawing heavily from secondary sources. The writing is accessible for general readers. Recipes, including historic translations and adaptations, appear throughout. The chronology (beginning from the first century CE), glossary, suggestions for further reading in each chapter, and approachable recipes are useful pedagogically. This work compares well with Julia Abramson's Food Culture in France (2006), from the "Food Culture Around the World" series. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Jonathan M Deutsch, Drexel University