Culinary Biographies is a biographical encyclopedia of gastronomy of about one hundred people, who had a major influence on the history of food. They are chefs and cookbook writers , nutritionists and doctors, farmers and restaurateurs. Many of the people listed in this book are known to us for their much greater achievements in other fields. Thus, Pythagoras' mathematical theories overshadow his vegetarian philosophy. The book lists resources dating back to the 6th century and ending with contemporaries. It lists pioneer food scientists and food anthropologists of the Americas, Europe and Asia, as well as known personalities of food circles such as Julia Child, Betty Crocker, Ray Kroc. The book includes recipes of the 15th century cook to the Pope and the culinary experiments of Louis Pasteur, Nikolai Gogol and Chef Boyardee, whose stories are both entertaining and informative. With cooking being now more popular than ever, this large-size book it is a great reference book for anyone interested in “what was cooking” in the era before the kitchen became an arena for the spectator sport of the Cooking Channel. The biographies are followed by three indices in which the subjects are listed by profession and by country.
Long title: Culinary Biographies: A Dictionary of the World's Great Historic Chefs, Cookbook Authors and Collectors, Farmers, Gourmets, Home Economists, Nutritionists, Restaurateurs, Philosophers, Physicians, Scientists, Writers, and Others Who Influenced the Way We Eat Today By Alice Arndt