Delicious Geography: From Place to Plate

This entertaining book takes us on a fascinating exploration of the world of food. Take a journey with the dynamic father and daughter duo, geographer Gary Fuller and chef Tracy Reddekopp, as they travel around the globe to trace the enduring links of geography and food. Food and its preparation and enjoyment define the major cultural regions of the world and how these regions have changed over time. The authors believe that the peoples of the world have begun to reunite after millennia of dispersal. The sharing of foods and food traditions are prime examples of this global connection.

Enriching the trip with thirty-five recipes to extend the experience into our kitchen, homes, and families, the authors also make geography fun by asking trivia questions that turn out to be far from trivial. Among the questions asked and answered are:

• What landlocked country in South America developed a plant that revolutionized food production in Europe?
• What bird on the island of Mauritius gave us an expression about mortality?
• On what Native American reservation, and in what kind of business, do we find the Code Talkers Museum?
• Why could vanilla be grown only in Mexico until the mid-nineteenth century?
• What famous Italian-American was given a nickname derived from a Pan American airliner?

(Answers: Bolivia, the potato, “Dead as a dodo,” the Navajo reservation in a Burger King; the plant could only be pollinated naturally by a Mexican bee, Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper)

Gary Fuller earned his PhD in geography at Penn State and taught for thirty-five years at the University of Hawaii. He also taught introductory geography at Penn State and Ohio State. He was named a Teacher of the Year by the National Association for Geographic Education, captained a championship College Bowl team, and was a winning contestant on Jeopardy! For the past twenty-five years, he has lectured on geographic and population topics aboard cruise ships.

T. M. Reddekopp is the owner and chef of the Hawaiian Vanilla Company. She has been immersed in the art of food and hospitality for over twenty-five years, hosting and serving more than 15,000 visitors a year, deftly incorporating vanilla into just about everything she makes. Choosing a lifestyle well off the beaten path, Tracy has clientele from all over the world seeking out her culinary creations, with many returning year after year in a pilgrimage for her sweet bread pudding with vanilla browned-butter bourbon sauce.