Morrison Wood and his wife traveled extensively in Europe, through the British Isles, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, and Belgium to create this encompassing cookbook. Wood wrote, "Until we sailed from Cherbourg we visited 156 cities and towns, and by 'visiting, ' I don't mean we just passed through. We explored every community, saw the best that it had to offer historically, architecturally, culturally, and gastronomically. I collected hundreds of recipes during our travels. The recipes included in this book can be made in almost any American home, and the ingredients called for can be obtained in almost any American market, or, in some cases, specialty food shops".