Clifford A. Wright "Constructing A Gastronomy Of Italy: Cuisine And Change"

What is Italian cuisine? That seems like an easy question; however, a deeper look shows it's not so easy. Things change. Traditional cuisine is both an abstract and concrete cultural artifact, a reflection of a people and their customs, which themselves change along with their food and cooking as changes occur in their agriculture, commerce, trade, and economy. Traditional cuisine is also a part of collective memory that forges the part of material culture that can be produced and consumed. A culture's culture is not immutable; it changes along with cultural and economic changes over time. Italy is complicated: is it a multitude of regional and provincial cuisines, or is there a "national" Italian cuisine? Clifford A. Wright won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year award and the James Beard Award for Best Writing on Food in 2000 for A Mediterranean Feast. His most recent book, An Italian Feast, is a sequel to that book. He is the author of 18 other books on cooking, food, politics, and history. More Info below.