In the Devil’s Garden - Stewart Lee Allen
One of the interesting aspects of food theory and food history – studying what people ate and why - is that there’s not a lot of evidence left behind. All we’ve really got to go by is what the scholars of the day thought to record, and depending on the particular biases of those scholars, what became “history” may or may not have been particularly accurate.
Which is what makes In the Devil’s Garden such a delightful romp. Author Stewart Allen Lee leads us through the Seven Deadly Sins, sorting our food myths and hang-ups into the various topical categories, complete with an appropriate menu for each one.
My favourite part has to be the first chapter and the origin of the apple as the forbidden fruit:
For years after my Christmas on Mount Athos I puzzled over the hermit’s comment that the naming of the apple as the forbidden fruit was a “lie of the Pope”. I knew, of course, that the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had been bitter enemies for almost a thousand years. So his remark could have just been a spurious attack on an old enemy. But another possible explanation could be found in the maps of pre-Christian Europe. The Old World at the time can be roughly divided into two groups. South of the Italian-Austrian border lived the Mediterranean race, a dark-complexioned people who, among other things, were lovers of the grape. Worshipers, really, because the vine provided their preferred intoxicant, wine, which was used as a mystical tipple by everyone from the pagan Dionysian cults to the modern Roman Catholic. North of this imaginary border lived a bunch of barbarians called the Celts. Since grapes did not thrive in their climate, they revered the apple. Instead of wine, their priests, the Druids, are believed to have used an alcoholic cider in their ceremonies. They even called their paradise Avalon, or Isle of the Apples, presumably with a cider press on the premises.
[…]
This description of Eve’s first insidious bite was written by the Roman poet Avitus around A.D. 470, near the height of the Celtic/Roman conflict. It could have been coincidence that the Romans used this particular moment to use the Celt’s sacred fruit to epitomize all evil knowledge.
Working his way through the Sins, Allen touches upon topics such as cannibalism, organ meat, the Irish potato famine, dirt eaters, kosher and halal meat and even the debate over breast milk and baby formula.
Like any good meal, however, the menu Allen serves up is best taken with a grain of salt. The book is laid out in the recent style of including endnotes with no references in the body of the text, so unless you go looking for them, his additional comments may be lost. Allen serves up as truth two common food myths that have been thoroughly debunked. First that Marie Antoinette said the famous “Let them eat cake!” line (she didn’t), and secondly, that Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian (he wasn’t). Given that Lee quotes common myths as fact, you’ve got to wonder how much else in the book is theory or conjecture.
Like the apple story, it’s one of those things that modern man will never truly know, but In the Devil’s Garden is still a great fun read for anyone interested in the origins of food. Allen is a sharp and entertaining writer and brings a personal element to many chapters as he makes reference to his well-traveled life. The story of the drunken healing Guinea Pig used to absorb Allen’s illness while in Peru is one of the best in the book.
I can happily recommend this as an enjoyable and interesting read – but one to serve as food for thought, and not the main course.
I’ve just read In the Devil’s Garden and was surprised at some of your comments. While I agree it was great fun to read, I thought your saying that Allensaid Marie Antoinette said “Let them eat cake” was actually incorrect. He doesn’t adress the issue at all, all I could find was a reference that called her Marie “let ‘em eat cake” Antoinette–I would take that to be identifying her with the phrase with which she is most commonly associated, like George “Bring ‘em On” Bush. Moreoevr in the endnotes, he specifically points out that historicans doubt Marie actually made the comment.
You then to on to say Allen says Hitler was a veggie. He does indeed write about people who have claimed that, then points out that vegetarians have been claiming he wasn’t a vegetarian for years. The link you provided “debunking” Hitler being a vegetarian actually leads right to a vegetarian website, obviously displeased at being associated with Hitler. But even that site admits that for the last 13 years of his life Hitler practiced some sort of vegetarianism!
So I’m a little puzzled by your comments that the book should be taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps your review should? Not that I mind salt. What interesting about Allen’s book is the picture it gives us about our attitudes about food–vegetarianism equated with peaceniks, etc–rather than mintor historical points that people will no double be arguing about until the end of thime.
Love your site