The many influences of the past on our diet today make the concept of 'British food' very hard to define. The Celts, Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans all brought ingredients to the table, and the country was introduced to all manner of spices after the Crusades. The Georgians enjoyed a new level of excess and then, of course, the world wars forced us into the challenge of making meals from very little. The history of cooking in Britain is as tumultuous as the times its people have lived through.

Tasting the Past: Recipes from Antiquity documents the rich history of our food, its fads and its fashions to be combined with a practical cookbook of over 120 recipes from the eras of the Iron Age Celts and the Romans.

Jacqui Wood guides us through the nutritious and pragmatic recipes of the Celts, who harvested the ingredients readily available around them; and the far more elaborate tastes of the Romans, who had an empire of imports to supplement and spice up their continentally curated diet.