My deepest thanks go to Christopher Speed, who agreed to be my chief nutrition consultant for this book, and who has doggedly and determinedly helped me thread my way through the mysteries of antioxidants, phytochemicals, fatty acids, glycemic loads, and other arcane aspects of nutrition, diet, and health. My hat goes off to anyone who can keep all those n-numbers straight, and that also includes Antonia Trichopoulou of the University of Athens (Greece) Medical School and her husband Dimitri Trichopoulos of the Harvard School of Public Health, who jointly provided the meticulous outline of the Mediterranean diet on this page; Marion Nestle of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, who has done so much to push Americans in the right direction as far as their eating habits are concerned, and who graciously provided the Foreword for this edition; and Frank Sachs, Eric Rimm, Walter Willett, and their many colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health who, largely through a remarkable series of encounters at the Culinary Institute of America in California, introduced me to new ideas and theories and elaborated on old ones.

And speaking of the CIA (the food one, that is), I also want to acknowledge Greg Drescher, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at that organization, and his role in channeling Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, of which he was then a director, toward the initial Mediterranean diet work. Together with Dun Gifford, Greg labored mightily to gain recognition for the importance of diet in general, and the Mediterranean diet in particular. Under their leadership, Oldways was instrumental in bringing together scientists, journalists, chefs, and concerned members of the public to discuss these issues. At the CIA, Greg continues to work closely with institutions like the Harvard School of Public Health to promote greater understanding of the importance of a healthy diet. The CIA/HSPH annual conference, World of Healthy Flavors, is a landmark occasion for that.

My agent, David Black, was admirable in his pursuit of my dream of updating this book, fifteen years after the first edition, for which I thank him mightily, and I thank him too for finding me exactly the right editor at Bantam, Beth Rashbaum, who had never before taken on a food book and turned out to be every writer’s fantasy editor—attentive, intelligent, quick to respond, quick to act, full of good ideas, lots of fun to work with, and, like my agent, with a fine palate to boot.

Finally, the book would simply not have happened without the constant attention of two essential people—faithful recipe tester Pam Elliott, who appeared on my front porch at the oddest times of the day with the oddest kind of something for me to taste yet another time until we got it right; and my equally faithful assistant Martha Lohnes, who searched, filed, photocopied, faxed, paid bills, traced recalcitrant contractors, boxed, hauled, mailed, took out the garbage, and looked after the dog while I roamed the Mediterranean having fun.

As is usual with a book of this nature, many, many other people had a hand in what success it may claim—anonymous chefs, growers, and food producers, in Europe and the U.S., who showed me new ways with recipes or ingredients, as well as old friends and family members who accompanied me on my travels all around the Mediterranean and waited patiently while I negotiated yet another detail. To all of you, everywhere, my deepest thanks.

—Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Teverina di Cortona    
May 2008