With the centenary of the Great War, historians resumed their arguments over the causes of the war, yet Rick Blom explores new ground by suggesting that food—or the lack of it—played a major role. Drawing from diaries, recipe books, and archival interviews, Blom creates a composite picture of how the major combatants' approaches to production, distribution, preparation, and supply influenced the outcome of the war. Working as a sous-chef in a re-created field kitchen, Blom recounts how he spent three cold, hungry, solitary days and nights in a restored trench, and he also includes sample recipes from the era.