THE WAY WE ATE

From the food photographers and The Way We Ate bloggers comes a lavishly illustrated visual journey through the rich culinary tradition of the last American century, with 100 recipes from the nation's top chefs and food personalities.

The blog The Way We Ate, launched in 2011 by Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz as a retrospective look at every recipe ever printed in Gourmet, has fed off the burgeoning interest in retro food to become an international phenomenon. In their gorgeous debut, they take a trip back in time with a host of today's most renowned chefs, food writers, and industry personalities. Featuring one recipe per year from 1901 to 2000, The Way We Ate captures the arc of the twentieth century through the foods that reflected each moment in time.

Each dish is paired with a full-color photograph and styled with its particular year in mind. Fecks and Wagtouicz have assembled a dream team to pull it off—a mélange of high-profile chefs, food industry bigwigs, and up-and-coming names in the food world whose talents reflect an impressive geographical, cultural, and culinary diversity. From modern twists on memorable classics like 1950's-style meatloaf, to original recipes based on historically monumental (or personally significant) events, the book’s eclectic smorgasbord is brought to life with the help of Jacques Pepin, Ruth Reichl, Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Andrew Carmellini, Melissa Clark, Marc Forgione, Jose Andres, Gael Greene, and other outstanding chefs.

An innovative work of history and cookbook like no other, The Way We Ate is the story of a nation’s cravings—and how they continue to influence the way we shop, cook, eat, and talk about food today.

Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz are New York City-based photographers who share a desire to re-create, cook, and capture some of the best recipes of the 20th century that they either missed the first time around, or want to relive in their tiny East Village kitchen. As freelance food and dining photographers, Noah and Paul enjoy careers photographing some of the most famous faces and decadent dishes worldwide. Noah earned his B.F.A from the Parsons School of Design and teaches in the Photography department at Parsons, and Paul is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.