Leibspeisen. A Culinary Biography of Germany.

German cuisine is far more varied than its reputation suggests: from Grüner Sauce and truite au bleu to Maultaschen and Sauerbraten, from venison saddle Baden-Baden to Helgoland lobster - east to west (Leipziger Allerlei to Himmel un Ääd), north to south (Rote Grütze to Kässpätzle), shaped by religious boundaries, regional traditions and waves of migration. Königsberger Klopse, pizza, döner, Gelato italiano, Phô - all of these have long since become part of the picture.

Eva Gritzmann and Denis Scheck trace the favourite dishes that have followed them since childhood and revisit the defining moments of Germany's culinary republic: the invention of Toast Hawaii, the launch of the country's first frozen pizza, the great egg battle at the Viktualienmarkt. They don't shy away from uncomfortable truths either - for instance, that in many German cities top-grade cocaine is considerably easier to come by than freshly caught fish.

The story stretches from the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949, when food was scarce, through the eating frenzy of the 1950s and the first wave of internationalisation in the 1960s and 70s, right up to the present day. Gritzmann and Scheck draw a portrait of the Federal Republic through its national dishes, customs, and most celebrated restaurants and chefs.

Eva Gritzmann (b. 1965 in Freiburg) studied business and medicine, holds a doctorate in medical psychology, and lives in Stuttgart. Denis Scheck (b. 1964 in Stuttgart) studied German literature and is one of Germany's best-known literary critics. Their most recent joint publication is Kafkas Kochbuch (2025).