The World on a Plate is the story of how immigrant families have changed and influenced our food and created a uniquely American culinary pastiche. Joel Denker, a longtime food and travel writer and a scholar of American folklore, conducted fascinating interviews with a range of ethnic-food merchants in crafting a history of our colorful food makers—the grocers, vendors, manufacturers, importers, restaurateurs—and the products they have given us.

Joel Denker has taught American history and other topics at George Washington University, Rutgers University, University of Essex (England), and other colleges and universities. He is the author of Capital Flavors: Exploring Washington’s Ethnic Restaurants and has written about ethnic food for the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Enquirer, and the Washingtonian.

“[Denker] manages to capture the minute details of food—sights, smells, tastes—that are notoriously difficult to convey in words. Denker likewise brings to life the activities of often flamboyant individuals, the business people and clever risk takers who discerned, correctly, that markets could be created for ‘exotic’ foods.”—Hasia R. Diner, American Historical Review

“A lively journey through the history of ethnic food in America. Anyone interested in knowing how Indian, Jewish, Lebanese, Italian, and Asian foods got their start will not want to miss this book. A must for food history buffs.”— Joan Nathan, author of Jewish Cooking in America and The Foods of Israel Today

“The anomalies of America's most common foods are as striking as their diverse origins. Denker traces a fascinating route from Greek diners to Mexican chili joints to Pakistani kebab houses to reveal the history of popular foodways that make up the polyglot culinary culture of America.”—Betty Fussell, American food historian