Why subscribe?

I'll be sharing dispatches from the deep history of food, and my travels around the world in search of lost, endangered and ancient flavors. For the last four years, I’ve been working on a book called The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past, which has taken me around the world; it’s going to be published by Greystone this September. My writing on Substack will be a behind-the-scenes look at the process, including some of the things I couldn’t share in the book. There will be photos, illustrations, historical arcana, and I will recount how my family has enjoyed the transformation of our home into an ancient cookery test kitchen. Or not enjoyed said transformation. Or threatened to kick me out into the street forever.

I’m the author of seven non-fiction books, among them The Devil’s Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit and Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. My writing on food has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveller, Gourmet*, National Geographic, The Smithsonian, and many others.

* Remember Gourmet?

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You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. Consider becoming a paid subscriber—it will allow me to continue my research and keep our pantry supplied with weird and wonderful comestibles. Subscribers to the free version only get some of the posts. (And not necessarily the best ones.)