Witold Szablowski spent time cooking when he wondered what dictators did when it came to meal time. I mean, after all, they had to eat. What were their cooks like? The book How to Feed a Dictator uncovers the insane lives of chefs working in the kitchens of some of the world’s most terrifying dictators. Sadam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Idi Amin and Pol Pot are known for their horrifying treatment of their people and countries. Some of these chefs insisted on being interviewed in secret out of terror of being found, even years after the person they worked for had died. Some worked for multiple regimes and changes.
How to Feed a Dictator is a quick read, but tense. I was surprised at how fast my pulse was going when reading about chefs having to make dinners as shooting and bombing went on around them, as they knew that if the dictator came home without a meal to eat the chef could be shot. The book is broken up into segments like snacks, appetizers, desserts, and entrees. At times the book is hard to stomach, but the information is important to know.
How to Feed a Dictator is available April 28, 2020 from Penguin Books.
