The Great Food Almanac: A Feast of Facts from A to Z [Paperback]

Irena Chalmers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

Fascinating writing and over 1,000 illustrations offer useful information on subjects from airline food to barbecue tips and maple syrup to table manners. Includes interesting lists of trivia and facts, consumer groups, information sources, mail order sources, and book recommendations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The author of many cookbooks, Irena Chalmers offers more than 260 entries in The Great Food Almanac on such far-ranging topics as airline food, cheeses, farm subsidies, minerals, Queen Victoria's wedding cake, restaurants and tofu. She accents them with recipes and quotes, and rounds the whole presentation out with mail-order sources, lists of associations and bibliographies. Food concerns are met head on, including the use of hormones in cattle ranching, as well as the use of "synthetic pigment" supplements to color the white flesh of pen-raised salmon. An entertaining and informative book for lovers of both trivia and food. The book won the 1995 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the Food Reference Category.

From Publishers Weekly

Plentifully illustrated and artfully arranged, this large-format compendium from Chalmers (The Food Professional's Guide) offers a banquet of delights just right for a reader's grazing. More than 260 entries, on such topics as airline food, cheeses, minerals, restaurants and tofu, are presented in info-bits that include recipes, quotes, mail order sources, lists of associations and, for nearly every entry, specific bibiliographies. Chalmers avoids taking a position on sensitive, possibly controversial issues: A box in the article on aquaculture notes that salmon raised in pens have white flesh; in order to achieve the pink color of salmon that feed in nature, "synthetic pigment" is added to the domesticated fish's diet. At the same time, Chalmers meets food concerns head on: her entry on beef discusses animal fats and health, and the use of hormones in cattle ranching. In "Bread" we read that Marie Antoinette's actual words were, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche." Chock full of information both useful and not, this entertaining oversize trade paperback will satisfy the food lovers on anyone's holiday gift list. 50,000 first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Collins Pub San Francisco (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002552337
• ISBN-13: 978-0002552332
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 10.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Irena Chalmers is recognized as the pioneer of the single subject cookbook. Her many engaging books have won numerous awards; the most recent, the Gourmand World Cookbook Award - Best Book for Food Professionals in the World for FOOD JOBS: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers.

A James Beard Foundation "Who's Who" of Food and Beverage in America, Irena has delighted and captivated audiences and readers with her wit and commentary on the food world and its many food trends. She is a past president and founding member of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) and Les Dames d'Escoffier. Irena also is a member of the faculty of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, a national food essayist and columnist for Chef magazine.