From the forbidden fruit of the Old Testament to the numerous laws broken at Francois Mitterand's final meal, In the Devil's Garden is a mouth-watering history of food taboos from around the world - a smorgasbord of culinary titbits to spice up any after-dinner conversation.
In a history peppered with religious extremists who would rather starve to death than violate ancient taboos, and in an age when half the world's population - from cow-loving Hindus to Kosher Jews and Western vegetarians - still live with harsh dietary restrictions, Allen reveals just how significant, and pervasive, our relationship with food is.
"A finger buffet of travellers' and fishermen's tales associated with food and food taboos, loosely chapter-bound by the Seven Deadly Sins... If we are, as the eighteenth-century food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin first suggested, what we eat, then Allen is a strange and adventuresome man"
The Times
From the forbidden fruit of the Old Testament to the numerous laws broken at Francois Mitterand's final meal, In the Devil's Garden is a mouth-watering history of food taboos from around the world - a smorgasbord of culinary titbits to spice up any after-dinner conversation.
In an age when half the world's population - from cow-loving Hindus to kosher Jews and Western vegetarians - still lives with harsh dietary restrictions, Allen reveals just how significant, and pervasive, our relationship with food has always been.
"Food factoids, whimsy, mad opinion, history and hearsay tumble across the pages of In the Devil's Garden ... Allen's anecdote-packed, gonzo writing style swashbuckles." Daily Telegraph
"By captivating the reader with his sardonic wit, Allen turns the dryest food facts into succulent morsels. A five-star read." What's on in London
Cover illustration: Mark Swan. Cover design: Ghost
