the roof of the mouth of a vertebrate. In human beings, this is regarded as the organ of taste; hence expressions such as ‘she has a fine palate’. In certain other vertebrates, the palate is food for human beings. Beef palate (palais de bœuf in France, where it used to be popular—cooked in a white court bouillon and dressed like calf's head) is nowadays almost unknown as a menu item.
Dried palate of water-buffalo is an ingredient in the kitchens of Laos (Phia Sing, 1981), but even there it is not always an ingredient of choice, being in some dishes a surprising substitute for the more expensive prawns which have to be imported from Thailand and would otherwise be preferred.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Sing, Phia (1981), Traditional Recipes of Laos, London: Prospect Books.
