Book Review -- A Flummery of Food
A Collection of Writings on Food and Drink From Around the World
Mar 18, 2009
Culinary tourism is “the pursuit of unique and memorable culinary experiences of all kinds, often while travelling, but one can also be a culinary tourist at home,” according to the International Culinary Tourism Association.
The Association’s website goes on to say that culinary tourism as an industry is relatively new, dating back just to 2001, and that the term ‘culinary tourism’ itself was only coined in 1998 by Lucy Long, a researcher at Bowling Green University in Ohio, USA.
It is safe to say, however, that regardless of where and why people travel, they need to eat. In other words, while travellers may not consciously or specifically go to a destination in order to sample its cuisine, they will have to do so at some point any way.
There are few things more personal than putting food in one’s mouth, which goes a long way to explaining why so much travel writing, whatever its focus, makes reference to culinary experiences. And because eating is so universal, it is easy to relate to travel stories about food.
Food and Drink Around the Globe
This is what makes A Flummery of Food – Feasts for Epicures such a delight to read. Small and stout, it is bursting with food- and wine-related writings that span centuries and continents.
Excerpts are taken from books by authors such as Charles Dickens, Evelyn Waugh, Mark Twain and Edward Lear, as well as the diaries of explorers, naturalists and army generals posted abroad.
The book is divided into eight sections, each covering a different aspect of eating and drinking. The first, rather aptly, is called ‘To Indulge or Not to Indulge’, which looks at the tricky restraints the social requirement for moderation places on food-lovers.
Another, ‘Eating in Foreign Parts’, describes eating turtle in the Amazon, the disappointment expressed by one diplomat at the lack of pudding choice available on the boat he is taking to Indonesia, and the “celestial” experience of trying Moroccan food for the first time.
Perhaps the most poignant section is ‘Desert Island Dishes’. Here, often solitary explorers describe the tribulations of finding and rationing food, as well as their infrequent culinary triumphs, which they have no one to share with.
A Literary Treat
And the title of the book? According to the Collins English Dictionary, ‘flummery’ can mean nonsense or a sort of cold pudding made from oatmeal. Either definition is appropriate for this light-hearted, but utterly satisfying literary treat.
A Flummery of Food – Feasts for Epicures (2004) is introduced by André Simon and published by Little Books Ltd, London, UK. It is available to purchase through online booksellers such as Amazon.com.
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