On the Table

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Farfalle, with herb butter, ham and gorgonzola.

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Food Writing

Once, at a booksigning, someone asked if there was a market for books about food—other than cookbooks, that is. Needless to say, I had no witty answer at the time, so I merely said, “Of course there is,” but the question haunted me.

If the answer was “no,” then why do I feel the need to write about food?

Clearly, it was part of a bigger question: what is it that we really need? What do members of any species really need? Simply to survive and to reproduce. In order to survive long enough to reproduce, we need to breathe, to eat and sleep. Everything else that we do is done to ensure that those needs are met. How do writers deal with these basic needs? It’s fairly obvious that reproduction is well-covered—obsessively well-covered—as a writing topic. Breathing could, conceivably, be an interesting topic—but I confess that an exciting angle hasn’t occurred to me yet. Sleep, aside from dreams, doesn’t offer much material with which a writer can work (OK, Washington Irving did manage to something with it, but sleep wasn’t really the point of “Rip Van Winkle,” was it?).

What all this boils down to is: there is really only one subject left that’s worth writing about—eating.

M.F.K. Fisher said as much in her introduction to The Gastronomical Me, in language that—thank goodness!—was warmer, less clinical, than mine. Instead of “eat, sleep and reproduce” she chose the more graceful “food and security and love.” When asked why she wrote about food (instead of more, supposedly, serious subjects), she replied:

“There is food in the bowl, and more often than not, because of what honesty I have, there is nourishment in the heart, to feed the wilder, more insistent hungers. We must eat. If, in the face of that dread fact, we can find other nourishment, and tolerance and compassion for it, we'll be no less full of human dignity.

There is a communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk. And that is my answer when people ask me: Why do you write about hunger, and not wars or love?”

The always irascible Doctor Sanscravat has been encouraged -- 'though no one has actually admitted to having done so -- to post another of his reminiscences here. This one is an account of an early rebellion against the forces of gastronomic tyranny.

From time to time, excerpts from various websites (other than this one), published books and books-in-progress will be displayed here.

Finally, a searchable index to The Herbalist in the Kitchen:

This is the sort of index we always wanted -- the idea was, that if one came across an unfamiliar ingredient in a recipe, but didn’t know where to begin to look for an answer in the book, a huge index would be a great place to start. Unfortunately, it would have doubled the size of an already big book. Instead, our friends at Google scanned in the book and have provided a searchable index. So, if you need to find out about butnege, or hboq, or szczaw, or any other unusual name for a spice or herb -- just type it in there. Google will provide all the relevant page numbers, and some of the actual pages (which means it’s also a great way to preview the book, if you don’t already have a copy).

Human Cuisine, our latest book (co-edited with IACP-award-winning historian Ken Albala), is an anthology of mostly new literary pieces about cannibalism -- only one story has previously appeared in print. Through its short stories, essays, a poem, and part of a play, the book explores aspects of the subject you probably never even considered (unless you are as obsessed with the subject as we are -- in which case you are probably one of the book’s contributors). The book is our first attempt at self-publishing, and we’re happy to announce that it is finally available! You can find out more about the book -- including how to get a copy (or three or four) here. A couple of strategically-placed copies, at your next dinner party, are bound to provide hours of fun at your guest's expense.

At the end of September, we were asked to fill in as keynote speaker at the IACP’s food history symposium, "Innovation at the Table," held at the Hagley Museum and Library, just outside of Wilmington, Delaware. Food writer Laura B. Weiss has been kind enough to post those remarks (along with some introductory remarks that are so uncritical that they sound as if they were written by our mother) on her blog, Food and Things. Our talk, on one aspect of the history of table service, can be found here. Be prepared for a long read -- and don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Gary’s profile (actually, full-face) has just been published, in print and online. It is also embarrassingly uncritical -- but, nonetheless, we are shamelessly posting a link to the article. As if that were not enough, Foreword Magazine recently added this interview to its website.

If you can’t bear to read another word (and believe us, we understand), some of our stuff is available as audio. You can hear us, as part of a panel discussion, at Town Hall Ohio, on “The Culture of Food;” as a guest on Evan Kleiman's show “Good Food,” on KCRW, Los Angeles; another podcast of a radio interview – for “On the Menu,” on WLFP, Pittsburgh, PA; another podcast of a radio interview – for Mark Pascal’s and Francis Schott’s show “The Restaurant Guys,” on WCTC, New Brunswick, NJ; or -- even more frivolously -- as part of LeitesCulinaria’s “Talking with Your Mouth Full.” Just click on the picture of bananas.

Speaking self-serving (we were, weren’t we?), some of the images seen in this website are now available on a variety of moderately useful items. They can be found at In The Pantry—an online shop for those who have disposable income, enjoy owning pretty things, and think the internet is a swell place to acquire such baubles. Despite the shop’s name, you won’t find anything there that is actually edible... ’though it will carry many more tasty items in the future. Think of the pantry as the place where we keep the ingredients that make our lives unique.

For information on these and other writings, and other food-related pages, click here or visit the links below:

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Gluttons for Punishment Department

After reading an excerpt or two from How to Serve Man, you probably won’t have much of an appetite for this sort of thing (or anything else) but you can find still more of my food writing at Leite's Culinaria (the direct link to our writing is at food history). David Leite’s award-winning site is beautiful—both tasteful and tasty—and is definitely worth a visit.

Everything on this site is protected by copyright unless specifically noted.
Copyright 2008 by Gary Allen