William Woys Weaver

Food historian, author, gardener, epicure

In its recently published form (2001) this medieval text has been mistakenly attributed to Northern Europe. In fact, it was compiled in Cyprus sometime before 1300 and is the oldest surviving cookbook from the Middle Ages. As I will demonstrate in my new edition of this work (not yet published), the text represents a collage of Byzantine and indigenous Franco-Cypriot dishes. Since it was translated into several languages, including Danish and German, this text was perhaps the most influential cookbook during the Middle Ages.

Ursula Heinzelmann

Food and wine writer, Director of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery