Medieval Masterchef: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on Eastern Cuisine and Western Foodways

The archaeology of food is in all sorts of ways ‘hot’. The focus in this varied collection of studies by key scholars in the field is on cuisine and foodways in the Mediterranean and north-western Europe during Medieval and Post-Medieval times (ca. 6th- 20th c.). The scope of the contributions encompasses archaeological and historical perspectives on eating habits, cooking techniques, diet practices and table manners in the Islamic World, the Byzantine Empire, the Crusader States, Medieval and Renaissance Europe and the Ottoman Empire. The volume offers a state of the art of an often still hardly known territory in gastronomical archaeology, which makes it essential reading for scholars and a larger audience alike. ‘The book’s strength lies in the authors’ recognition that incorporating archaeological, material culture, and textual evidence with culinary history is of paramount importance in developing a comprehensive and textured comprehension of meals and mealtimes in the past.‘ - Mary C. Beard. Includes contributions by Johanna Maria van Winter, Mary C. Beard, Yasemin Bagci, Jose C. Carvajal Lopez, Alexandra van Dongen, Ruth Smadar Gabrieli, Miguel Jimenez Puertas, Mauro Librenti, Cecilia Moine, Marten van Nieuwkoop, Lubna Omar, Roos van Oosten, Alessandra Pecci, Katelin Post, Lara Sabbionesi, Anastasia Shapiro, Elli Tzavella, Claudia Vandepoel, Van Verrocchio, Joanita Vroom, Yona Waksman, Mink van IJzendoorn and Filiz Yenisehirlioglu.