European banquet history

Author: (English) Roy Strong
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The development of European banquets has undergone a long and complex process, its prosperity and decline directly reflecting the political, economic, and cultural characteristics of different periods in various European countries. This book vividly recreates and analyzes the evolution of European banquet culture from ancient Greece and Rome, the Renaissance, Baroque, to modern times, using rich historical materials and numerous illustrations. It comprehensively reveals the profound ideological and sociocultural connotations behind it, highlighting the new research findings of Western scholars in this field. The main focus of the book is the dining table and the main meal. Each period gives rise to a banquet that can be called a prototype. Therefore, each chapter begins by describing such a banquet, then analyzing the political, social, and other factors that shaped it. Although the book touches on the evolution of cuisine, it does not, in general, discuss the preparation and supply of food, except to illustrate the dishes served at the table, nor does it dwell excessively on kitchens and cooking methods. Books that collect recipes from each historical period and reinterpret them for contemporary chefs are not uncommon, but this book does not provide such content. The book chooses the title "Banquets" to indicate its primary interest in the dining habits of the upper class, although as social power shifted, by the year 1914 when the book concludes, a significant portion of the masses had finally become involved. Thus, this is a top-down history, which is now somewhat unfashionable, yet it closely aligns with one of the book's themes: the relationship between what happens at the dining table and power and hierarchy.