Bon appétit

SCHOTT’S FOOD AND DRINK MISCELLANY By Ben Schott, Bloomsbury, £ 9.99

Mankind can be divided into two kinds of people: those who eat to live and those who live to eat. This book can be enjoyed by the former but should be at the bedside table of all those who claim to belong to the second category.

Those who live to eat can then, following a small chart given in this book, further subdivide themselves. According to Schott, there is a hierarchy of gastronomy which runs thus in descending order: gastronome, gourmet, friend (epicure), gourmand, goulu (glutton), and goinfre (greedy guts). In an explication de texte, Schott adds that a gourmand is one whose chief pleasure is eating, and a gourmet is a connoisseur of food and wines.

The book is full of such delightful titbits. Indian food lovers will be happy to note that “ghee that is kept for between 10 and 100 years is called kumbhaghrta [and] ghee that is kept for over 100 years is called mahaghrta. Both are considered to have healing properties.”

Schott has the definitive instruction on how to drink a martini and this shows up James Bond to be a bit of a cad. Here is Schott on how to serve a martini: “Martinis should be agitated with ice before being drained into a cocktail glass. Shaking creates a colder drink than stirring, but it risks diluting the ingredients by prolonging their exposure to ice...James Bond [“shaken not stirred”] added insult to uncertainty by eschewing gin in favour of vodka.’’ To counter Bond, Schott turns to Somerset Maugham who declared, “A martini should always be stirred not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously on top of one another.’’

Gastronomes and chefs have left their names on particular types of edibles. The common sandwich originates from John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-92) who first ordered such a snack to facilitate simultaneous eating and gambling. The mouth-watering Sachertorte — the rich, dry, rum-infused chocolate cake from Vienna — gets its name from its maker, Franz Sacher (c.1832). The succulent Chateaubriand steak, always cut from the middle of a fillet, is named after the French writer and diplomat, Vicomte Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand, and was probably popularized in London by his cook, Montmirel. The Italian delicacy, Carpaccio, (extremely thin slices of raw beef garnished with oil, cheese, mustard and lemon juice) was created by the founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Giuseppe Cipriani, and was apparently inspired by the Renaissance painter, Vittore Carpaccio (c.1460-1525).

“Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?’’ is the question asked in certain quarters to a diner who either through greed or neglect, is holding up the passage of a wine round a dessert table. The wine is always passed to the left. It is said that at All Souls in Oxford, aspirant fellows are served cherry pudding to test their table manners. Schott provides an answer to the age-old question, “What do you do with cherry pits?’’ They are to be dropped from the lips into the cupped hand and then placed on the side dish.

Finally, an Olympian injunction from none other than Lord Curzon, “Gentlemen do not take soup at luncheon.”

A more delectable collection of trivia on food and drinks is difficult to find. All manner of foodies from the epicure to the glutton are in Schott’s debt. It is all too good, from soup to nuts.