Here is the first half of the nineteenth century seen through the bottom of a saucepan. The book is arranged as a dinner party, the different courses (all cooked by the author) taken from Soyer2s various recipe books. Each course is correct for its place in the dinner, but is also chosen for its relevance to the subjects discussed in the chapter in question. What were the differences between French and English food at this time, and what caused them? Why did the French favour restaurants, while the English preferred clubs? What did the very poor eat, and why did the Irish starve rather than eat the fish that teemed all around them? What was the position of a chef in society - was he an artist, which was how Soyer saw himself, or just a servant? Why did Soyer so energetically take up the cause of the poor? Was it because he himself had been born poor and knew what it was like? Or because he was a Protestant, and Protestants in France at that time were radicals and outsiders? What did the men eat in the Crimea? Why was the French army there so much better organised than the English?.