From the foreword: "The multitude of historical, ethnic, sociological, anthropological, and etymological components of our food culture creates a jumble of terms and their definitions, leading to chaos. The tendency of many chefs to often hide their creations behind exotic names or to jazz them up acoustically with borrowings from English, French, Italian, or even Chinese is no more helpful for untangling this mess than the frequently used 'à la so-and-so' or 'in the style of.' This confusion of vocabulary, the enrichment of our pantry with exotic ingredients of unknown names, and the diversity and vibrancy of foreign recipes presented the author with enticing challenges in attempting to bring some order to the chaos of culinary language. In doing so, he has carefully ensured that most of the recorded dishes are based on fundamental knowledge.".