Delicious retells the story of humans from the perspective of flavor. Using insights from food science, neuroscience, anthropology and literally a dozen other fields, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez argue that flavor has been central to human evolution, prehistory and history. Dunn and Sanchez make this argument in a way that offers new context to the pleasures (or displeasures) each of us experiences every day around food. This latter element of the book has made conversations with chefs to be particularly rewarding.
Rob Dunn is a biologist, writer and professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. He has written seven books.
Reem Kassis is a Palestinian writer whose work focuses on the intersection of food with culture, history, and politics. She is the author of The Palestinian Table, which won the Guild of Food Writers First Book award and a Gourmand World Cookbook award and was a James Beard Best International Cookbook award finalist and NPR Best Book. Her second book, The Arabesque Table is a one-of-a-kind collection of contemporary recipes tracing the rich history of Arab cuisine. She grew up in Jerusalem, then lived in the US, France, Germany, Jordan, and the UK. She now lives in Philadelphia.