More About the Book

More about The Taste of Conquest

“Who in hell is Michael Krondl? His book, in a word, is brilliant. “
— James Villas

“a wonderful book”
“an altogether rich, perfectly seasoned slice of world history.”
— Katherine A. Powers for The Boston Globe

The story of spice is as sharp and complex as freshly ground pepper, as pungent and exotic as the scent of cloves. It tells a tale of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon that sent flimsy sailing ships round the world to secure the aromatic prize, of how the taste for spice of a handful of well-fed Europeans set the course for world conquest.
The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globetrotting tale of greed and appetite, of faith and fashion, of nutmeg-induced genocide and cinnamon-dusted custard tarts—in short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening and anecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef-turned-writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary cities—Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam—and how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and re-make) the Western diet and thereby set in motion the first great wave of globalization.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the world’s peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval Europe’s most cosmopolitan destination. Driven to dominate this trade, Portugal’s mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as Europe’s chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam “invented” the modern corporation—the Dutch East India Company—and took over as spice merchants to the world.
Sharing meals and conversation with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors.
As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how the world has often been transformed in the search of a tastier dish. There is story in every bite.

Press and Reviews of The Taste of Conquest:
Katherine A. Powers for The Boston Globe—
“It is obvious how much fashion has to do with what and how we eat today, but when I think of the big picture of food in the Western world, I think of fashion less as a cause than an effect of changes in technology, science, demographics, transportation, and economics. The main purpose of Michael Krondl's "The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice" (Ballantine, $25.95) is to show the three distinct ways in which Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam came, in turn, to dominate the spice trade and to burgeon in population and wealth, and to show also how shifts in that trade led to the cities' subsequent decline and, indeed, to amnesia about their own past. He does this with deft command over a welter of facts and with entertaining insouciance ("As usual, we find out about the improved quality of contemporary life by people's griping about it"). In the course of all this, he not only shows the impact of taste in changing the entire world, but gives fashion far greater sway than is customary.
“Krondl begins with the introduction of spice, especially pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, and cloves, into Europe and argues convincingly that the popularity of these ingredients in the Middle Ages was not, as we are forever hearing, because they disguised the taste of decaying food. Rather, people used vast amounts of spice because it was, of course, a useful way of balancing the vast amounts of spice because it was, of course, a useful way of balancing the humors, but also because they really, really liked the flavor. Beyond that, the costliness of spices and their exotic associations with Eden made their use fashionable. Krondl demonstrates that medieval cuisine, except that of the poor, whose aim was simply to eat, was highly seasoned indeed. Then, oddly, with the 18th century, spices almost vanished from European main courses. The reasons are complex (and briskly and compellingly conveyed), but two stand out as being based in fashion. In the first place, as Krondl explains, spices lost their cachet as "aromatic missives from paradise" when spice became a "mundane commodity poured like coal into the hold of Dutch East Indiamen." But of even great moment to the fate of spicy cuisine was the invention of dessert as a separate course. Spices gravitated into sweet foods and away from the main dishes and were thus, in a manner of speaking, trivialized. Fashion is just one element in this wonderful book, which itself is an altogether rich, perfectly seasoned slice of world history.”

Araminta Wordsworth for the Financial Post—
“Witty and erudite...”
(read the rest of the review)

Peter Birnie for the Vancouver Sun—
“...combining a commendable depth of scholarly research with an easily readable love of his first profession as a chef, Krondl appeals to both foodies and historians.”
“The Taste of Conquest is a delicious treat and has me hankering to hit the road in search of something spicy to eat, then write about.”
(read the rest of the review)

Christine Sisnondo for The Toronto Star—
“Michael Krondl's The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice. Krondl isn't an academic (rather, a chef-turned-independent food historian), but his book is an extraordinarily thorough account of the couple of hundred years in which Venice, Lisbon and Amsterdam ruled the global trade in spice trade.”
(read the rest of the review)

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer—
“Michael Krondl sees the history of the spice trade in Europe as the origin of 21st-century globalization. His fascinating account goes back a thousand years to the Crusaders, with numerous stops along the way. Affluent nobles from western Europe got a taste for highly spiced food when they invaded the Middle East. And six years after the first voyage of Columbus, Vasco da Gama found that a 100-pound bag of pepper that sold for 16 ducats in Venice could be had for two ducats in Goa. The discovery was as good as gold, Krondl says. His detailed account of the rise and fall of cities with the precious goods is spicy reading for food and history lovers alike.”

Carl Hartman for the Associated Press, “Spice Trade First in Globalization”—
“Though Krondl sees the spread of spices in western Europe centuries ago as the origin of 21st-century globalization, he notes that the international market goes further back into ancient history.” (read the rest of the review)

Bill Daley for the Chicago Tribune—
“Spices inspire enticing stories and recipes.” (read the rest of the article)

Other nice things people have said about The Taste of Conquest:
The Taste of Conquest is filled with rich aromas and piquant tastes from the past that still resonate today. Michael Krondl serves up this aromatic tale with zest and verve. This book isn’t just for historians and spice -lovers– it is for all who love good writing and great stories."
— Andrew F. Smith, editor, Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink

In common with the finest food writers–Elizabeth David, mark Kurlansky, Anthony Bourdain—Michael Krondl shows a respect for the details of the past that never slays his appetite for the realities fo food now. his love of history, travel, and food is as compelling as it it is infectious.
— Ian Kelly, author of Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, the First Celebrity Chef

With a dash of flair, and a pinch of humor, Michael Krondl mixes up a batch of well researched facts to tell the story of the intriguing world of spices and their presence on the worldwide table. A book that any amateur cook, serious chef, foodie and food historian should read. A fantastic look into world cultures that have shaped our understanding of spices.
— Mary Ann Esposito, Host/Creator of Ciao Italia

Michael Krondl's new book on the spice trade peeks behind the usual histories of Venice, Lisbon and Amsterdam--and tells a tale that is at once witty, informative, scholarly, and as consistently spicy as its subject. In short, it's delicious!
— Gary Allen, Food History Editor at Leitesculinaria.com, and author of The Herbalist in the Kitchen

As a chef I have always been deeply intrigued by the mystique of spices. Mr. Krondl’s book awakens and transports the reader into this mysterious world, showing us now our lives and history have been transformed by the sensuous odors of cardamom, nutmeg and turmeric….”
— Gray Kunz, acclaimed chef and owner of Café Gray and Grayz and author of The Elements of Taste