The subject of food has taken a central role on the cultural stage. Today there are numerous television shows dedicated to various types of cooking, even with celebrity chefs, not to mention entire channels dedicated to the cooking of food. Celebrity chefs range from the formal (think Martha Stewart in the USA and Delia Smith in the UK) to the informal (think Rachel Ray in the USA and Nigella Lawson in the UK). Many of the more adventurous travel the world to try new, exotic, even strange dishes (think Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain). With the waistbands of the average Western citizen and the speed at which we consume food on the rise, inquiry about food has shifted to reclaiming our diets from cheap, processed fast food to what is naturally good for us and for the environment (e.g. Food Inc., Fast Food Nation, and The Slow Food Movement).

More academically, food has been the topic of much research in various fields: feasting in elite contexts in numerous subfields of archaeology and anthropology; baking in ethnographical studies; taboo foods; foods in cultic contexts – the list is quite long. However, the inclusion of food outside the realm of kosher dietary laws and the sacrificial system in biblical studies has been lacking. Studies of numerous aspects of daily life have been made (e.g. weaving, the making of wine) but, for some reason, the preparation of food in domestic contexts (home cooking) has been overlooked. It is my hope to help remedy the situation.