""Life has become more joyous, comrades.""--Josef Stalin, 1936Stalin's Russia is best known for its political repression, forced collectivization and general poverty. Caviar with Champagne presents an altogether different aspect of Stalin's rule that has never been fully analyzed - the creation of a luxury goods society. At the same time as millions were queuing for bread and starving, drastic changes took place in the cultural and economic policy of the country, which had important consequences for the development of Soviet material culture and the promotion of its ideals of consumption.The 1930s witnessed the first serious attempt to create a genuinely Soviet commercial culture that would rival the West. Government ministers took exploratory trips to America to learn about everything from fast food hamburgers to men's suits in Macy's. The government made intricate plans to produce high-quality luxury goods en masse, such as chocolate, caviar, perfume, liquor and assorted novelties. Perhaps the best symbol of this new cultural order was Soviet Champagne, which launched in 1936 with plans to produce millions of bottles by the end of the decade. Drawing on previously neglected archival material, Jukka Gronow examines how such new pleasures were advertised and enjoyed. He interprets Soviet-styled luxury goods as a form of kitsch and examines the ideological underpinnings behind their production.This new attitude toward consumption was accompanied by the promotion of new manners of everyday life. The process was not without serious ideological contradictions. Ironically, a factory worker living in the United States - the largest capitalist society in the world - would have beenhard-pressed to afford caviar or champagne for a special occasion in the 1930s, but a Soviet worker theoretically could (assuming supplies were in stock). The Soviet example is unique since the luxury culture had to be created entirely from scratch, and the process was taken extremely seriously. Even the smallest decisions, such as the design of perfume bottles, were made at the highest level of government by the People's Commissars. Sometimes the interpretation of 'luxury goods' bordered on the comical, such as the push to produce Soviet ketchup and wurst. This fascinating look at consumer culture under Stalin offers a new perspective on the Soviet Union of the 1930s, as well as new interpretations on consumption.

Providing a cultural and holistic analysis of African American food preferences, anthropologist Eric Bailey shows us how black Americans generally perceive health, body image, food, dieting, physical fitness, and exercise. Like the majority of Americans overall, black Americans are becoming more overweight and obese than ever before. So, too, they are seeing the consequences - heart attacks, strokes, hypertension, and Type II diabetes at earlier and earlier ages. Bailey offers a new cultural diet for black Americans and a way to work together collectively to not only understand this critical health issue, but also to establish a lifestyle strategy that will be both effective and manageable. This work will interest not only general readers, but also students and scholars in health and medicine, psychology and health psychology, nursing and social work. Views on celebrity black Americans who have fought battles against their weight, a review of soul food cookbooks and the cultural history of black American cuisine, and a critique of the lack of corporate America's marketing of health and fitness programs and items to the black American community are spotlighted. book also includes an overview of federally funded diet and fitness programs for black Americans that have seen some success.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, Alexis Soyer, a Frenchman from Meaux, was the most famous cook in London. A combination of chance, talent and social conscience took him into many of the great events of his time. Born in 1810, he cooked his was through the Paris July Days in 1830; he oversaw the building of Londona s most modern kitchen at the Reform Club, where he ran the kitchen from 1837--1850; he designed a model soup--kitchen which he took to Ireland, at the Lord Lieutenanta s request, during the 1847 famine; he opened Londona s first Parisian--type restaurant in conjunction with the Great Exhibition in 1851; and in 1855, he went to the Crimea to take over the running of the kitchens in Florence Nightingalea s hospital at Scutari. When he died in 1858, Soyer was helping Miss Nightingale reform British army catering.

..".contains fascinating material on the social, political, nutritional, and evolutionary aspects of human food choice...Scholars and students in food studies will find Consuming the Inedible useful for its variety of approaches to 'unusual' eating practices, and several of the chapters should also find their way onto reading lists for courses in the anthropology of food." . JRAI

Throughout the world, everyday, millions of people eat earth, clay, nasal mucus, and similar substances. Yet food practices like these are strikingly understudied in a sustained, interdisciplinary manner. This book aims to correct this neglect. Contributors, utilizing anthropological, nutritional, biochemical, psychological and health-related perspectives, examine in a rigorously comparative manner the consumption of foods conventionally regarded as inedible by most Westerners.

This book is both timely and significant because nutritionists and health care professionals are seldom aware of anthropological information on these food practices, and vice versa. Ranging across a diversity of disciplines Consuming the Inedible surveys scientific and local views about the consequences--biological, mineral, social or spiritual--of these food practices, and probes to what extent we can generalize about them.

Jeremy M. MacClancy is Professor of Anthropology, C. Jeya Henry is Professor of Nutrition and Helen M. Macbeth is an Honorary Research Fellow in Anthropology, all at Oxford Brookes University."

...this is a valuable addition to the food analyst;s library. It brings together a well balanced account of the methods available an the literature cited will provide the analyst with all the details needed for setting up water-soluble vitamin assays and further reading to understand why these vitamins are important to those concerned with human nutrition. ' - International Journal of Food Science and Technology This book is of practical use as a tool and reference work of laboratory managers, senior analysts and laboratory technicians in food and vitamin manufactrurinf companies, for those in govenment and research institutes and for medical researchers, public analyst and nutritionist, It can also be recommended for a broad audience including lectures, students of natural sciences and food technologist. - lesbensm Wiss und Technol.'I recommend Water-soluble vitamins Assays in Human Nutrition not only to scientist in academia and industry and students in all food related fields as a valuable and easily used reference... it wll most likely be the first book I reach for when the inevitable question arises.April 1994Price: 115.00UK

Hotelier and guest lodge owner extraordinaire Nicky Fitzgerald poses the question, ‘How can you
possibly feed guests who, when they are not on safari, are eating in the best restaurants on the planet?’

As she goes on to say, ‘It is a daunting challenge to prepare food in the middle of nowhere for guests
who come from all four corners of the world, from different culinary cultures and who, quite rightly,
expect the best of the best when it comes to choosing where to stay for their next holiday.’

Angama Mara not only rose to the challenge, it has exceeded it. Perched on the edge of the Great
Rift Valley overlooking Kenya’s lovely Maasai Mara, Angama Mara and its bush kitchen draws
inspiration from the finest ingredients to be found in Kenya: beautiful vegetables from the highlands,
tropical fruits a-plenty from the coast, cheese from a renowned supplier just outside of Nairobi,
prawns from Malindi, freshwater fish from Lake Victoria and beef from the north. As you will discover
as you read this book, Kenyan cuisine is deeply influenced by Arab-inspired Swahili dishes from the
coast and Indian food from the significant communities that have called this country home for many
generations. Aren’t your taste buds dancing with delight at the very thought?

This quirky anthology of recipes, reminiscences, anecdotes and stories was compiled and written
in honour of the chefs at Angama Mara, and its guests who made the dream possible. The food and
the breathtaking scenics were photographed by Sam Linsell, herself a well-known food stylist, food
and travel photographer, and cookbook author.

Maine is justly known for its seafood -- and freshwater fish -- and this classic cookbook features it all, including some of the lesser-known species.

You've made it to Friday, now what are you going to eat? Having spent years gathering friends around her kitchen table, Eleanor has perfected the art of Friday night dinner. It usually starts with a sip of something cold and ends with friends tipsily heading home, full and happy. But most importantly, there's always something good to eat. Here are more than a hundred recipes for the best night of the week. If you're planning to spend the evening on the sofa, have your closest friend over or even host the masses, why not try Eleanor's fail-safe crowdpleasers: Frozen jalapeno margaritas Baked potato with hot smoked salmon, soured cream and pickled radishes Bucatini with mushroom cream and crispy sage Sausages with lemony, caraway cabbage and apples Roast chicken with chicken juice rice and orange and onion salad Ginger, prune and PX cake with cardamom custard And amongst the recipes are thoughts on the glamour of mixing a martini for one, the lifesaving magic of a really good spaghetti carbonara, and the joy of a table laden with bits, waiting for hungry hands. So, fill your favourite glass, choose something mouth-watering to cook and embrace all that Friday night has to offer.

Renaissance Italy's art, literature, and culture continue to fascinate. The domestic life has been examined more in recent years, and this book reveals the preparation, eating, and the sociability of dining in Renaissance Italy. It takes readers behind the scenes to the Renaissance kitchen and dining room, where everyday meals as well as lavish banquets were prepared and consumed. Katherine McIver considers the design, equipment, and location of the kitchen and food prep and storage rooms in both middle-class homes and grand country estates. The diner's room, the orchestration of dining, and the theatrical experience of dining are detailed as well, all in the context of the renowned food and architectural scholars of the day.