What started as a recipe booklet for eccentric cocktail recipes grew over time into an in-depth study of our eating habits across subcultures. By examining the ways in which diet and social values intersect, I discovered that our food choices typically have much more to do with how we see our place in the world than they do with simple culinary tastes. 

The identities defined in the essays include the Happy Housewife, the Church of Clean Eating, and the Fast Food Populist, among others. Each is described with its flagship foods, values, historical and social context, and finally is accompanied by a terrible cocktail that follows the identity’s teachings to the letter.