This book is about the traditional food ways of the province of Cavite, Philippines. Cavite is usually studied through historical or written records that document the establishment of towns, the peaks and lows of population and demography, the catalog of revolts and revolution that figure in the birth of nation. It is even possible to see its history through the eyes of its heroes and its villains. Ramos chose to trace Cavite’s past through its food and in the process found a history rooted in its food: geography determined the products of the land; waterways explained physical mobility and the transfer of Chinese, Spanish, Mexican, American, and Japanese influences over the centuries that gave shape, color and taste to their distinct food. Ramos’ book, “Republic of Taste: The Untold Stories of Cavite Cuisine,” enriches the growing literature of food from the regions that may one day fuse into a national cuisine. —From the Foreword by Ambeth R. Ocampo.