The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe (The Food Series) (Hardcover)

by Ken Albala (Author)
Key Phrases: singolare dottrina, elite diners, dietary literature, New World, Robert May, Thomas Dawson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The Banquet is the first book to describe developments in the realm of courtly feasting on an international scale. Few specialists in this field have so broad a knowledge of the literature in so many languages, and few have read so widely and thoughtfully. Intelligently written and original, this book is a pleasure to read." Barbara K.. Wheaton, author of Savoring the Past

Product Description

The importance of the banquet in the late Renaissance is impossible to overlook. Banquets showcased a host’s wealth and power, provided an occasion for nobles from distant places to gather together, and even served as a form of political propaganda. But what was it really like to cater to the tastes and habits of high society at the banquets of nobles, royalty, and popes? What did they eat and how did they eat it?
 
In The Banquet, Ken Albala covers the transitional period between the heavily spiced and colored cuisine of the Middle Ages and classical French haut cuisine. This development involved increasing use dairy products, a move toward lighter meats such as veal and chicken, increasing identification of national food customs, more sweetness and aromatics, and a refined aesthetic sense, surprisingly in line with the late Renaissance styles found in other arts.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1 edition (March 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252031334
• ISBN-13: 978-0252031335
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #625,427 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Banquet is surprisingly accessible to readers of all backgrounds, April 7, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Professor of History Ken Albala presents The Banquet, an examination of the tradition of fine and extravagant dining in Western Europe during 1520-1660. During this era, banquets were used to display a host's wealth and power, gather nobles from disparate places together, and disseminate political propaganda; The Banquet explores the evolving nuances of this practice and trends such as the increased use of dairy products, a move toward lighter meats such as veal and chicken, refinement of aesthetic senses and aromatics, and other style progressions notable in their parallel of other aspects of Renaissance art and culture. Though scholarly in tone, The Banquet is surprisingly accessible to readers of all backgrounds curious about what the Renaissance aristocracy ate and how they ate it; notes, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index round out this fascinating contribution to Renaissance and culinary history shelves.