LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDRE SIMON AWARD

The epic tale of the world's most sophisticated gastronomic culture, told through a banquet of thirty Chinese dishes

Chinese was the earliest truly global cuisine. When the first Chinese labourers began to sojourn and settle abroad, restaurants appeared in their wake. Yet Chinese food has the curious distinction of being both one of the world's best-loved culinary traditions and one of the least understood. For more than a century, the overwhelming dominance of a simplified form of Cantonese cooking ensured that few foreigners experienced anything of its richness and sophistication - but today that is beginning to change.

In this book, the James Beard Award-winning cook and writer Fuchsia Dunlop explores the history, philosophy and techniques of China's rich and ancient culinary culture. Each chapter examines a classic dish, from mapo tofu to Dongpo pork, knife-scraped noodles to braised pomelo pith, to reveal a singular aspect of Chinese gastronomy, whether it's the importance of the soybean, the lure of exotic ingredients or the history of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Meeting local food producers, chefs, gourmets and home cooks as she tastes her way across the country, Fuchsia invites readers to join her on an unforgettable journey into Chinese food as it is made, cooked, eaten and considered in its homeland.

Weaving together historical scholarship, mouth-watering descriptions of food and on-the-ground research conducted over the course of three decades, Invitation to a Banquet is a lively, landmark tribute to the pleasures and mysteries of Chinese cuisine.

"A brilliantly informative appreciation of Chinese food past and present, told through a series of essential ingredients and dishes… Her sensory writing is so vivid that I felt I was actually there with her in the food markets of China" - Sunday Times

"Dunlop's erudite historical account tells the story of China’s multifarious cuisine in lip-smacking detail... A compelling blend of scholarship and passion" - Financial Times

"Dunlop travels from the wheat-eating north to the rice-loving south, dishing up meaty nuggets of history, morsels of politics and, above all, lip-smacking descriptions of food… A paean to Chinese gastronomy as refreshing as a bowl of grandma’s bitter melon and pork rib soup" - Spectator

"In 30 years of exploring and documenting the country, Fuchsia Dunlop has done for China what Elizabeth David did for Mediterranean food and Claudia Roden did for the Middle East" - Observer

"An authoritative new book… Dunlop makes a compelling case for the superiority of Chinese cuisine, but in a delighted and expansive rather than a chauvinistic way" - Economist

"A vivid account of China’s food culture, going back to its mythical past to trace the diversity of flavours, textures and techniques that blossomed in the millennia that followed" - TLS

"Hailed as one of the finest food writers, Dunlop understands that to simply describe food is stagnant. Her style is wickedly erotic… While one is lulled by her words, it is easy to forget how clever her construction. Like a fugue, her motifs echo and dance us to the end" - Irish Times

"A landmark love letter to Chinese food" - Mail on Sunday

"Fuchsia Dunlop is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Chinese cuisine... Dunlop’s storytelling is superb" - Literary Review

"Dunlop delves into a complex, subtle cuisine with an insider’s expertise" - Kirkus Reviews

"Written in lively prose and with a sensitivity to the emotional content of food in culture, [the book] offers a whistle-stop tour of Chinese cuisine... Taking in everything from the right consistency of rice to the ideal texture of chicken testicles, it’s a lip-smacking read" - China Books Review

"A fantastically accomplished deep-dive into the history of Chinese food, and its place in today’s culinary world. It’s difficult to think of anybody better placed to put such a book together" - Joe Lutrario

"Rapturous... Invitation to a Banquet reveals a universe of delights, innovation and versatility so deep and broad it will subdue even readers who believe they know all about the cuisine" - Bloomberg