Food on the Move: Dining on the Legendary Railway Journeys of the World

by Sharon Hudgins (Editor)

All aboard for a delicious ride on nine legendary railway journeys! Meals associated with train travel have been an important ingredient of railway history for more than a century—from dinners in dining cars to lunches at station buffets and foods purchased from platform vendors. For many travelers, the experience of eating on a railway journey is often a highlight of the trip, a major part of the “romance of the rails.”

A delight for rail enthusiasts, foodies, and armchair travelers alike, Food on the Move serves up the culinary history of these famous journeys on five continents, from the earliest days of rail travel to the present. Chapters invite us to table for the haute cuisine of the elegant dining carriages on the Orient Express ; the classic American feast of steak-and-eggs on the Santa Fe Super Chief ; and home-cooked regional foods along the Trans-Siberian tracks. We eat our way across Canada’s vast interior and Australia’s spectacular and colorful Outback; grab an infamous “British railway sandwich” to munch on the Flying Scotsman ; snack on spicy samosas on the Darjeeling Himalayan Toy Train ; dine at high speed on Japan’s bullet train, the Shinkansen ; and sip South African wines in a Blue Train —a luxury lounge-car featuring windows of glass fused with gold dust.

Written by eight authors who have traveled on those legendary lines, these chapters include recipes from the dining cars and station eateries, taken from historical menus and contributed by contemporary chefs, as well as a bounty of illustrations. A toothsome commingling of dinner triangles and train whistles, this collection is a veritable feast of meals on the move.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Cooking, Cookbooks, Trains, Food

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 15, 2019

Reviews

[Geeta Ramani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prompt: Includes a diary entry

Food on the Move by Sharon Hudgins.

What interesting topics to write about - food and trains! 'Food on the Move' is wonderfully researched and chronicled on two topics dear to every train traveller - “the attraction of eating well-served food while gazing outside at the passing scenery.” The essays are accompanied by detailed photographs and included are, diary entries of travellers and menu cards and some authentic recipes provided by the Railways themselves.

The book was very engaging and interesting. I enjoyed reading about Canada's long distance trains as it also mentions the landscape one traverses while enjoying the meals . But the one I wished to travel on was Australia's The Ghan. The essay provided a truly mesmerising account of both travel and food on the move!

[IrmaJolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy to 'travel' all over the world, enjoying the food stories at the same time! Just brilliant !

[LillyBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a "coffee table" style book, which I didn't realize when I put it on hold. I thoroughly enjoyed all the pictures - old photographs, old menus, old advertisements. There are even recipes. However, because it is an illustrated style of book it is lacking in narrative. Each section is written by a different person, so of course some are better than others. But all of the sections are brief, dry accounts of the history of dining on each specific line. While I found them interesting because I like history and food, I didn't feel that any of them captured the magic promised in the advertisements and found in the photographs.

[JEFF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Food on the move is a great book for people who like food and railways. The pictures and words in this book made my mouth water. There are lots of chapters each written by different people describing very different railways, from the cheap food of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia to the delicious expensive food on the Ghan railway in Australia. Food on the move is not for little kids because they might find it hard to read.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing is uneven due to each section being written by a different person. The pictures were nice & the descriptions of food were occasionally mouthwatering. But some sections were so dull I barely skimmed through them.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I would have preferred an overarching narrative and more history based work, this book of snapshots detailing train food on several major/famous worldwide lines was pretty interesting. The photos were nice. The recipes were fun.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable read that made me hungry and want to travel these rail lines and that is really all you can ask for a travel book to do.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed hstory of some wonderful train journeys around the world, that can still be travelled on. I just wish there had been more recipes.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved seeing what all these trains are like, and learning about the history of their cuisine.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A randomly picked up book which was a fun look at historical meals and recipes on old trains across the globe. Great photos and first-hand accounts of train excursions.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the book as a railfan. Brought back memories of my trip on the Southwest Chief, which was one of the train routes highlighted in the book. The other routes are intriguing.

[Jenn Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This happens to be a very fascinating book for anyone who is interested in what dining on a train was like back in the day.-JW

[Perri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great photos, some interesting history, but overall, lots of lackluster writing. I guess I went in thinking this would be more Theroux-vian train adventures vs. research journal style submissions.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely pictures and a good collection of different railways.