Food on the Move: Dining on the Legendary Railway Journeys of the World

by Sharon Hudgins (Editor)

Overview

All aboard for a delicious ride on nine legendary railway journeys! Meals associated with train travel have been an important ingredient of railway history for more than a century—from dinners in dining cars to lunches at station buffets and foods purchased from platform vendors. For many travelers, the experience of eating on a railway journey is often a highlight of the trip, a major part of the “romance of the rails.”

A delight for rail enthusiasts, foodies, and armchair travelers alike, Food on the Move serves up the culinary history of these famous journeys on five continents, from the earliest days of rail travel to the present. Chapters invite us to table for the haute cuisine of the elegant dining carriages on the Orient Express; the classic American feast of steak-and-eggs on the Santa Fe Super Chief; and home-cooked regional foods along the Trans-Siberian tracks. We eat our way across Canada’s vast interior and Australia’s spectacular and colorful Outback; grab an infamous “British railway sandwich” to munch on the Flying Scotsman; snack on spicy samosas on the Darjeeling Himalayan Toy Train; dine at high speed on Japan’s bullet train, the Shinkansen; and sip South African wines in a Blue Train—a luxury lounge-car featuring windows of glass fused with gold dust.

Written by eight authors who have traveled on those legendary lines, these chapters include recipes from the dining cars and station eateries, taken from historical menus and contributed by contemporary chefs, as well as a bounty of illustrations. A toothsome commingling of dinner triangles and train whistles, this collection is a veritable feast of meals on the move.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789140187
Publisher:	Reaktion Books, Limited
Publication date:	10/15/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	68 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Sharon Hudgins is the author of five books and hundreds of food and travel articles published worldwide. Her books include The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East and T-Bone Whacks and Caviar Snacks: Cooking with Two Texans in Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Table of Contents

Cover Title Page Imprint Page Contents Foreword Introduction 1: Sandwiches, Savouries and Strawberry Fizz: Dining at Speed on the Flying Scotsman 2: Of French Champagne and Turkish Coffee: Feasting and Fasting on the Orient Express 3: From Caviar to Mystery Meat: Dining across Two Continents on the Trans-Siberian Railway 4: All Aboard: Classic American Cuisine on the Santa Fe Super Chief 5: Sockeye Salmon and Saskatoon Pie: Regional Foods on Canada’s Long-distance Railways 6: Kangaroo, Crocodile and Custard: Eating across the Outback on Australia’s Ghan Railway 7: Fast Food: Eating within the Box on Japan’s ‘Bullet Train’ 8: Spicy Curries and Cups of Tea: Dining along the Darjeeling Himalayan Line 9 : Baked Bobotie, Fried Kingclip and Chocolate Potjie: Traditional Fare on South African Luxury Trains References Bibliography Author Biographies Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements

Editorial Reviews

The visions laid out in this book of the glory days of the Orient Express, the grandest and most local cuisine-oriented of the trains surveyed here, or of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, on which bearers would telegraph orders to a railway kitchen down the line for hot delivery at the next stop, make my celebrations over the appearance of a new snack packet in the Amtrak cafe car seem particularly paltry.

The New York Times Book Review - Corby Kummer

I am of course far from the first to find trains uniquely pleasant or productive. Food on the Move, a new collection of essays by various writers, describes dining by rail—in an exalted past and, in the book’s tantalizing narratives, sometimes today—as an experience as exhilarating and varied as watching the scenery unfold mile by mile. . . . The visions laid out in this book of the glory days of the Orient Express, the grandest and most local cuisine-oriented of the trains surveyed here, or of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, on which bearers would telegraph orders to  a railway kitchen down the line for hot delivery at the next stop, make my celebrations over the appearance of a new snack packet in the Amtrak cafe car seem particularly paltry.

Corby Kummer

Hudgins and seven other writers recount the glory days of train travel, specifically focusing on the cuisine that travelers used to partake of en route. It wasn't just the presence of cloth napkins, fine china, and real silverware that made the trip special; thought and care also went into crafting menus and selecting fine wine. Behind the scenes, chefs contended with the logistics of butchering meat (on board!) and keeping food cold, while the waitstaff made travelers feel like honored guests. Yes, once upon a time, it really was just like in the movies. Hudgins and her crew cover the globe from Japan's bullet train to the famed Orient Express to British Railways' Flying Scotsman. Even the United States, Canada, and Australia all once had train lines that knew how to ‘put on a spread.’ Readers will appreciate all of the research that shines in each chapter, but included photographs and recipes are sure to whet many a nostalgic appetite for a slower, more gentle, more genteel way of life and travel.

Booklist

"Hudgins and her contributors supply many arresting historical details. . . . The accounts are thorough and come right up to date. . . . The book is lavishly illustrated and recipes are supplied."

Country Life

"This book is all about the food enjoyed (or not) on rail journeys across the world, some perhaps more well known than others. . . . Whether you’re a seasoned traveler yourself or more of the armchair variety you can’t help be entranced by this book."

Comfortably Hungry

Food and trains, my twin passions, are brought together brilliantly in this guided tour of the symbiotic relationship between railways and eating. Whether it is a simple aloo dum enjoyed in the hill town of Darjeeling, caviar on the Trans-Siberian  or a feast on Orient Express, this book makes you want to go on every journey and eat every meal described in it."

Christian Wolmar

"Describes legendary journeys on five continents, while taking a deep dive into the history of trains and the pleasures of food enjoyed on them. . . . A professor and prolific food writer, [Hudgins is] perfectly placed to understand and explain the joys and limitations of meals on the move. . . . The contributors to Food on the Move—having enjoyed culinary delights and that familiar clackety-clack from Australia’s Ghan to the Orient Express and Trans-Siberian Railway—remind us a better way really does still exist."

Literary Review of Canada

“Hudgins and seven other writers recount the glory days of train travel, specifically focusing on the cuisine that travelers used to partake of en route. It wasn't just the presence of cloth napkins, fine china, and real silverware that made the trip special; thought and care also went into crafting menus and selecting fine wine. Behind the scenes, chefs contended with the logistics of butchering meat (on board!) and keeping food cold, while the waitstaff made travelers feel like honored guests. Yes, once upon a time, it really was just like in the movies. Hudgins and her crew cover the globe from Japan's bullet train to the famed Orient Express to British Railways' Flying Scotsman. Even the United States, Canada, and Australia all once had train lines that knew how to ‘put on a spread.’ Readers will appreciate all of the research that shines in each chapter, but included photographs and recipes are sure to whet many a nostalgic appetite for a slower, more gentle, more genteel way of life and travel.

Booklist