Cover of The Table Comes First (Photo courtesy of Yee Beadle/Condé Nast Archive)

Ever wonder if there is more to our feasts, meals and snacks with family and friends, than going through the motions? Adam Gopnik, a staff writer for The New Yorker has a title, The Table Comes First: Family, France and the Meaning of Food that provides insightful discoveries. In 1986, he began to write for The New Yorker and about ten years later, he was “culturally transplanted” to Paris for five years. Upon his return in 2000, Random House published, Paris to the Moon, a book containing a selection of his essays from Paris Journals.

Whether or not the restaurant was invented in France, the country’s gastronomy history has inspired the world to create culinary schools, recipe books, and cooking shows. The late Julia Child was a vessel for French culture inside and outside the kitchen. The food prepared and enjoyed in restaurants represent a convergence of social interaction and commerce. John Donovan guest host for NPR interviewed Gopnik about his title this past Thanksgiving. In addition to family and France, the author extensively discusses restaurants:

So many of the places where we pass our time and make our lives in modernity are private-public places. And as a consequence, they give our lives a particular shape. They mean that we invest ourselves very strongly in places that are really essentially profit-seeking places, but at the same time we find meaning and solace in them. And the restaurant was one of the first of those kinds of institutions we’ve had.

The Strand has The Table Comes First on the shelves for $25.95. Unfortunately the signed copies are sold out. However, if you are and avid fan and are in search for a signed title, that explores modernity, Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life is available and only $10. Please visit their website for more information.

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Cover image: Vanity Fair - Yee Beadle/Condé Nast Archive