Great Dishes of the World

by Robert Carrier

First published in 1963, this is a cook's tour of the world which became an international bestseller in 11 languages. It presents over 500 recipes based on universal favourites, rustic surprises and culinary elegance. The recipes are accompanied by basic practical guidance.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

Hardcover

First published October 22, 1970

About the author

Robert Carrier OBE (born Robert Carrier McMahon – died in France) was an American chef, restaurateur and cookery writer, whose success came in England, where he was based from 1953 to 1984, and then from 1994 until his death.

Reviews

[S'hi]

Opening with “The history of every nation lies visible on its table. Its wars and victories, its occupation in defeat, the marriages of its kings, its religion, its overseas empires – all have left behind them a dish or two destined to be adopted into the national life.” Robert Carrier’s journey with food lifted me straight out of home economics (which my mother never found very economical for a family of nine) and into a universe of possibilities and connections. For a long time it was my favourite book even though I hadn’t yet made anything from it. I would sit for hours imagining meals and wondering why I had shared house with a male as limited in his tastes as my meat and three vege father.

To tell the truth I found it daunting to experiment. For various reasons I had trouble getting out of my little world and into the bigger one, and just as my feet seemed sometimes stuck in quicksand, so my palate lay under a layer of salt and poor imagination.

But this is the book in which I discovered bouillabaisse, here I first learned of courgettes, here I fluffed omelettes and forgot about eggs.

Having recently read a number of books by Peter Robb, with his wonderful interweaving of food through his travels and history, I can now well return to Carrier for “the first taste [that] may surprise.., but adventure your palate as your ancestors did. And remember the history of the world in this food.’
A world tour without the airfare – makes cleaning out the kitchen cabinets truly worthwhile.

[Pamela Hempston]

I use this little gem all the time. It has travelled the world with me and my knives.