[I]n the harsh, arid heart of South Africa--a sparsely populated area known as the Great Karoo--descendants of the indigenous Khoisan and Xhosa peoples, the Dutch, British and French settlers, slaves from the East, Greeks, Portuguese, Indians and Jews have, over the past 200 years, miraculously fed and healed body and soul using recipes and remedies passed from one culture to the next .... Sydda Essop pays homage to this rich, cultural interdependency without turning a blind eye to the isolation, political turmoil, abject poverty, socio-economic conditions and harsh climate of the region. She has interviewed more than 78 (mostly self-taught) cooks and healers aged from 23 to 95, all from different cultural corners of the region, and convinced them to share their heartfelt stories of personal challenges and triumph and most precious family recipes"--Jkt.