Award-winning cook and writer Fuchsia Dunlop has travelled around China, researching and cooking Chinese food, for some 30 years.
Chinese food has the curious distinction of being one of the world’s best-loved yet least understood culinary traditions. The overwhelming dominance of a simplified form of Cantonese cooking ensured that few foreigners have experienced anything of its richness and variety - but that is beginning to change. Invitation to a Banquet tells the story of the world’s most ancient and sophisticated cuisine through a feast of thirty Chinese dishes. Each chapter examines a classic dish to reveal a singular aspect of Chinese gastronomy. Meeting local food producers, chefs, gourmets and home cooks, Fuchsia invites readers to join her on an unforgettable journey into Chinese food as it is made, cooked, eaten and considered in its homeland.
“A love letter to several millennia of Chinese gastronomy.” Isabel Hilton, Financial Times
Frances Wood was curator of the Chinese collections in the British Library. She has written extensively on Chinese history and culture - and grew up in Hampstead Garden Suburb.