In a sea of books about how to cook, what we should eat, and the history of various ingredients, few authors seek to synthesize all three questions into one historical view of cookery and cuisine. In his new book, The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, author Adam Gopnik attempts to do just that. He cites books and quotes spanning from historical figures to modern-day chefs in his quest to understand how we got to our culinary present. Unfortunately, the book is a bit too scattered to provide new insight into the history or future of gastronomy. More