Today I have two copies of Mark Grant’s book on Roman cookery to give-away. I used this excellent book on researching the food eaten by my characters in my novel Roman Mask. Roman cookery is so intriguing because it is both so similar to our modern palettes, but also subtlety different. The Romans were of course famous for lavish banquets, but Mark Grant focuses on what the normal people ate, rather than the over-indulgence of the few. His recipes come from ancient writings and he attributes each source for each of the dishes. The Romans used herbs and strong flavours and you can see the origins of the Mediterranean diet that we know today. Having an authentic meal in a book is a great way to set a scene and instill a particular mood, and I found this book incredibly useful in my research. It also comes in handy if you want to host a dinner party that has a unusual edge. All his recipes can be compiled by gathering commonly bought ingredient’s today – so don’t worry, you want be confronted with a dish of marinated dormice for instance. However, there will be a few staple ingredients that won’t be there, as they only came into our diets after the discovery of the new world – so don’t expect any potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or chilies.
If you want the chance to win a copy of this book, simply post in the comment field the word ‘Hungry’ and next week I will draw two names out of the hat. The offer is open to everyone wherever you live in the world, as long as you have a postal address I can send the book to.
Good luck!
Historical Novels and Epic Fantasy 
Hungry
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Hungry
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Hi Penny, You have won a copy of the book on Roman cookery. Can you send me your mail address so I can send it to you? You can email me in the contact me section on my site. Thanks!
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A great book choice. I did a seminar on Roman food for my Master’s degree, this was a book we touched on. What I found most fascinating about the diet of the lower classes was how vegetarian based so much of it was (save for the garum, of course)! Food is one of those great things that really help to humanize the people from history. Thanks for the post!
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HI Rebecca,
Yes you’re right, its such a great way to understand their way of life. I find I still use some of these recipes in my everyday cooking now. Some of them are a bit rich so I find I have to be careful which ones I put together, or maybe have a salad on the side (even if it is full of completely un-Roman tomatoes).
Btw…did you want to enter the draw for the book? You didn’t say ‘Hungry’ but I can put you in?
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Oh, of course! Sorry, I was so caught up in food talk, I didn’t even think of it. And I read a chickpea recipe made with saffron (I think it was one of Apicius’) that I still use all the time. So tasty!
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