One travel writer finds that governments all over the world are trying to control what local delicacies we get to eat
Culinary travel books are becoming a bit of a genre. Anthony Bourdain blazed the trail with his A Cook’s Tour, which invented the idea of Extreme Eating – Bourdain travelled all over the world finding the most bizarre edible delicacies possible and sampling them. He spent quite a lot of time in South East Asia and indeed, the book’s front cover pictures him at the Bayon temple in Angkor, Cambodia. (You can read a great article about Bourdain’s travels on my books website, spikemagazine.com).
Recently published was Taras Grescoe’s The Devil’s Picnic: A Tour of Everything the Governments of the World Don’t Want You to Try, which could be seen as clever follow on from Bourdain’s escapades. Here’s the synopsis:
“Never in history have we seemed to have such global freedom, such an opportunity to indulge our wildest tastes. We think we live in a time of unprecedented choice. But as Taras Grescoe discovers, this is just an illusion. In this witty expose, our intrepid author goes in search of the things that the rulers of the world will punish you for trying – all the time asking the question: why in ostensibly free states should we be criminalized for behaviour that concerns no one but ourselves? In a travelogue that takes in Swiss absinthe, Cuban cigars, Bolivian coca tea and stinking French cheese, Taras Grescoe drinks, smokes and eats his way to finding out. Fun, philosophical, and unafraid of the big questions, this is a journey for free-thinkers, not the faint-hearted. As insightful and outraged as “Fast Food Nation” and as funny and astute as “Dude, Where’s My Country” , “The Devil’s Picnic” is a feast for anyone who has ever made a stand for personal liberty.”
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