The past is served!

Reay Tannahill, The Fine Art of Food, 1968. Found in my local street library.

Look! I found this book, The Fine Art of Food, in my local street library, abandoned among the usual thrillers, self-help books and novels nobody quite remembers buying.

The cover stopped me. It is gloriously busy. A Renaissance woman clutching a lemon, sailing ships, cattle, fruit, wine, cooks and diners. An entire civilisation appears to be swirling around one plate! The interior is just as lovely—a vibrant visual representation of art and food history. All of which, made me think about dinner. 😋

We tend to treat food as something reassuringly domestic. Something we buy at Woolies, arrange semi-nicely, perhaps photograph if we’ve become completely insufferable.

But think about it… food is so much more than that really… every meal carries a history.

Tea and sugar come freighted with empire.

Spices trace old trade routes.

Livestock tells stories of land, wealth and agriculture.

Recipes migrate with people, changing as borders, wars and economies change around them.

Even the humble lemon has travelled further through human history than most of us ever will!

Food records class too. Who grew it, who cooked it, who served it and who had the luxury of simply sitting down to eat.

Perhaps that’s why this peculiar old book appealed to me. It refuses to show food as merely food.

Every meal is an archive.

And now this battered book has its own tiny history too. Somebody owned it, discarded it, and left it on my street for me to find.

Now, I’m the lucky one learning all about the stories sitting quietly on my dinner plate.

What tiny morsels of history will you be devouring tonight?

x Victoria

About Victoria Hall

Victoria Hall is an English-born, Australian-based writer and illustrator. She is the creator of three picture books for children, Penny Prickles at Coogee Beach, Eggy Peggy Has Lost Her Leggy and The Fairy Beasts. For more information, check out her really outdated bio here.