I lived for five wonderful years in Stratford, Ontario. Although best known for its Shakespearean theatre festival, Stratford is also a culinary destination. This small, southwestern Ontario town is home to some of Canada’s finest restaurants – with Rundles and The Old Prune heading my list – as well as one of the country’s finest culinary institutes, the Stratford Chefs School.
Passion for Food
Living in Stratford, my passion for food crossed over into the realm of obsession as I delighted in the finest food I have ever enjoyed. Stratford left me ravenous to learn all I could about cuisine.
The New Yorker Food Writing
Although I usually read The New Yorker for its short stories, in Stratford, I also began to appreciate the food writing the magazine published. Imagine my delight when ‘Secret Ingredients – The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink’ (edited by David Remnick, Random House, 2007) landed in my lap. Close to six hundred pages of pure bliss, I thought. I was right.
Finest Food Writers
The New Yorker has published some of the finest food writers. This collection includes pieces by M.F.K. Fisher and Judith Thurman, among others.
Food Writing’s Tie to Memories
So much of this writing’s appeal is its tie to memories, and M.F.K. Fisher got my memories flowing with ‘The Secret Ingredient’, her exploration of the difficulties of trying to extract recipes from people. “My own mother always disclosed calmly her “secret” in making the best mustard pickles in the world, but almost nobody believed her, simply because she told it,” Fisher remembers. My own grandmother also freely offered her recipe for the best dark fruit cake in the world, only to be challenged about the ingredients she had left out since no woman in her right mind would share her real recipes outside the family.
Hand-made Tofu
Judith Thurman shares a different kind of recipe in ‘Night Kitchens’, about a trip to Japan in search of hand-made tofu. For the food writers (or food writer hopefuls) out there, here is part of her explanation about how difficult it is to make great tofu. Her detail and wit ensure a reader’s attention:
“Negotiate a contract for organic soybeans with a reliable farmer whose fields lie on the slopes of Mt. Hira, in the Shiga Prefecture, where the soil and the water are unpolluted … Soak them overnight in very cold spring water … grind them with a granite mortar … and put the white soy juice … to cook on a stone hearth.”
Other Appetizers
Other appetizers in this volume include: ‘A Sandwich’, ‘A Mess of Clams’, and ‘The Fruit Detective’. There is also food-related fiction and some of the magazine’s great cartoons.
Be warned, though. A foray into reading food writing such as this can make you obsessed with trying your hand at food writing or, at the very least, trying the next and the next and the next dish placed in front of you. Bon appetit.
Sharon Hunt - Sharon Hunt has been a freelance writer and editor for two decades, with publication credits including: Canadian Geographic, Far East ...
