Since the earliest times the people of Europe have gathered together, either as families or as whole communities, to celebrate their traditional festivals - their high days and holidays, their harvests, their births, weddings and funerals. At Christmas and New Year and Easter, and at the pagan fest...

The potato has become so familiar to everyone today - it is the uncontested star on the menu of chefs both great and small - that we tend to forget its history. The potato has survived wars, famines, political intrigue and is certainly the modern-day success story of the food industry.

With ...

Since its first publication in 1991, Viana La Place's Verdura has become a much loved classic. And with good reason: Its 300 irresistible recipes represent the best of the Italian approach to vegetable preparation, an earthy yet spirited technique that celebrates fresh ingredients simply treated.

Every town in France has at least one charcutier, whose windows are dressed with astonishing displays of good food; pates, terrines, galantines, jambon, saucissions sec and boudins. The charcutier will also sell olives, anchovies, condiments as well as various salads of his own creation, making a vi...