Over the chapters, two thousand years of history-told through a culinary lens-come alive. From Ancient Rome to tenth-century Baghdad, al-Andalus Spain, the Ethiopian Empire, and nineteenth-century New York City, each chapter presents an immersive retelling of world history interwoven with period recipes adapted for today's kitchens, allowing modern cooks of all abilities to create and eat dishes that were enjoyed hundreds of years ago. Readers learn to orchestrate feasts from Apicius: blend spices from the Silk Road; use indigenous ingredients of the Americas; revisit the "classics" from the court of the Sun King; and savor complex delicacies from the birth of the American restaurant scene. The home cook can prepare an entire seven-course Tudor feast, pick and choose a few dishes from around the world and throughout time, or read about a period of history with incredible photos of ancient food made modern. Richly illustrated, the hand drawn maps and contemporary photography add to the sensory experience, while Harris's foreword puts these historic foodways and their legacies into contemporary context.