On Hunger: Why We Should Take Food Writing More Seriously

Written By: Madison Bigelow 

 

I have a confession to make: I’m a vegetarian. 

 

You might think to yourself, Madison, who cares? But I promise this information is pertinent, because I have a second confession to make: one of my favorite authors is Anthony Bourdain. 

 

I’ve developed a somewhat odd obsession with Bourdain and Bourdain-adjacent figures over the last few years. As someone who doesn’t eat meat or has the budget to indulge in the fine-dining scene, I’m greatly drawn towards the ways in which food appears in the media. 

 

Food, generally speaking, has been accepted by the contemporary zeitgeist as a means to express, cultivate, and understand the self and community, whether that understanding happens within or outside of the boundaries of that said culture. In other words, eating is a part of the human condition. Good, bad, or indifferent, everyone has a relationship with food. But, while we talk about food and share food with each other, why are we not paying more attention to how food takes up space in our literary imagination?

 

Here are three pieces to jumpstart your consideration of food (and those who make food) as cultural phenomena worth talking about:

 

1. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain

This is one of my favorite memoirs of all time. Truly. Having grown up watching No Reservations, Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential effortlessly knits together anecdotes that detail his journey to chefdom, the economic operations of the culinary world, and the (often masochistic) drive required for a career in the kitchen. 

 

Frankly, this book opened my eyes to the intensity, importance, artistry, and grit of the culinary world. I continue to return to Bourdain’s written work (long after my first read) when I feel the need to be inspired by the mundane. 

 

 

1. “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace

Published in Gourmet magazine in 2004, Wallace travels to and reviews the 2003 Maine Lobster Festival, one of the premier food events in the Northeast. Stirring much controversy amongst readership at the time, Wallace reflects on his experience at the festival, the ethics of boiling animals alive for consumption, the sociological ties that bind humans to one another in the pursuit of sustenance and pleasure. 

 

It’s an unsettling piece, surely. But it really does prompt consideration for the ritualistic behaviors that we perform when it comes to how we prepare and consume food, and how that impacts our perceptions of community. 

 

• Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel

 

Unlike Bourdain or Wallace, Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate is a highly celebrated novel in the magical realism genre. Protagonist Tita, who loves to cook, is able to transform the food she makes by infusing her emotions into her work, thereby unintentionally affecting those around her. Her family, who she cooks for, is impacted by the ways in which Tita processed the various hardships in her life. 

 

Esquivel’s work calls into question the power that food holds in the creation, maintenance, and collapse of interpersonal relationships. It also reconsiders how domestic, traditional feminine work (like cooking) is not only highly nuanced within the shadows of the home, but is also much more potent than one might think. 

 

These are only three works of many that consider food as an object that is important beyond providing biological sustenance. However, these pieces shed light on the ever-changing and highly colorful world of food writing, which I deeply urge you to consider exploring the next time you’re looking to read something new.