A New Scientist Globe and Mail and Eater Best Book of 2023In the tradition of Michael Pollan Anthony Bourdain and Mark Bittman surprising flavorsome tour of ancient cuisines Kirkus STARREDfrom Neolithic bread to ancient Roman fish sauce why reviving the foods of the past is the key to saving the future. fascinating look at the people who are keeping these ancient food traditions alive against the odds while offering a rough roadmap toward a more sustainable food ecosystem. of us are worried or at least we should be about the impacts of globalization pollution and biotechnology on our diets. Whether its monoculture crops hormonefed beef or highfructose corn syrup industriallyproduced foods have troubling consequences for us and the planet. But as culinary diversity diminishes many people are looking to a surprising place to safeguard the future into the past.The Lost Supper explores an idea that is quickly spreading among restaurateurs food producers scientists and gastronomes around the world that the key to healthy and sustainable eating lies not in looking forward but in looking back to the foods that have sustained us through our halfmillionyear existence as a species.Acclaimed author Taras Grescoe introduces readers to the surprising and forgotten flavors whose revival is captivating foodlovers around the world ancient sourdough bread last baked by Egyptian pharaohs rawmilk farmhouse cheese from critically endangered British dairy cattle ham from Spanish pata negra pigs that have been foraging on acorns on a secluded island since before the United States was a nation and olive oil from wild olive trees uniquely capable of resisting quickly evolving pests and modern pathogens.From Ancient Roman fish sauce to Aztec caviar to the longthoughtextinct silphium The Lost Supper is a deep dive into the latest frontier of global gastronomy archaeology of taste.