This extraordinary cookbook from celebrated author Andreas Viestad explores the culinary wonders along the legendary spice route, from Zanzibar to India to Bali and everywhere in between. Part travelogue, part cookbook, this colorful volume captures the spirit of each region and reveals the origins of the spices now used in everyday cooking across the globe. Nearly 100 recipes, a glossary of spices, source list, and unforgettable color photographs document the people, places, andbest of allthe irresistible cuisine at every stop on the journey. Where Flavor Was Born brings the exotic flavorsand culturesof the Indian Ocean into the home kitchen.

""This beautiful book from the Norwegian author of Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking offers photos galore, travel tales and interesting recipes (a few of them impractical, including the Balinese suckling pig). It's a travelogue as much as a cookbook, with Viestad taking readers to where cumin, tamarind, turmeric and nutmeg are grown."" Star Tribune, December 6, 2007

""Where Flavor was Born explores the edge of the Indian Ocean, from Australia around to South Africa, stopping at Thailand, Malaysia and Bali, and stretching up through the Red Sea to Egypt. On vividly colored pages, between recipes for potato croquettes with ginger and honey and turmeric squid with tamarind sauce, Viestad charts his travels with anecdotes that turn the book into a journal and history lesson as ell a collection of recipes and reference for the area's spice trade."" San Francisco Chronicle, December 12, 2007