The Book of Jewish Food

An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day


A monumental work that traces the story of Jewish people through Jewish cooking

Every cuisine tells a story. Jewish food tells of an uprooted, migrating people and their vanished worlds. It lives in people's minds and has been kept alive because of what it evokes and represents.

From the Jewish quarter of Cairo where Claudia Roden spent her childhood to the kitchens of Europe, Asia and the Americas, The Book of Jewish Food traces the fascinating story of Jewish cooking and its people. The over 800 recipes - from tabbouleh and falafel to the Yemeni wedding soup Ftut - are the treasures garnered by Roden during almost fifteen years of travelling around the world, tasting, watching, talking and gathering stories.

A celebration of roots, of generations past, of vanished worlds and identity, The Book of Jewish Food is a beautiful book for the reader and the cook.

'No-one will ever produce a richer, or more satisfying feast of the Jewish experience' - Simon Schama

'The Book of Jewish Food has done more than simply compile a cookbook of Jewish recipes--she has produced a history of the Diaspora, told through its cuisine' - Kyle Dean

'One can't imagine a better food book than this, ever' - Nigella Lawson, Vogue