"food writing" news and stories

If you are a Mario Batali fan who is starting to twitch and suffer from signs of withdrawal due to the fact that your favorite orange-shod chef won't be around to inspire and entertain you on the Food Network, fear not! He is now writing a regular column over at that bastion of online food writing, Serious Eats. It actually seems like a terrific way to get your regular dose of Mario, as his writing is punchy, appealing and natural-sounding. In his current entry, he offers up a recipe for Pasta Pomodoro that sounds absolutely delectable.

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The most recent edition of the New York Times Book Review features a write-up of A Stew or a Story, a new collection of short pieces by M.F.K. Fisher assembled by Fisher biographer Joan Reardon. The NYT review doesn't exactly make you want to run out and snatch up a copy, however. From what reviewer Julia Reed has to say, many of the pieces in the collection are less than essential reading. Rather, they're mainly instructive pieces that don't feature much of the intertwining of food and emotion for which Fisher was known. Still, if you're already a fan, as I am, A Stew or a Story sounds to be worth a look. If, however, you're looking to get into M.F.K. Fisher, as any human who reads and eats should, perhaps the best place to start is The Gastronomical Me, which is available as a standalone volume or as part of the collection The Art of Eating.

Snack had a great piece on what she will not write about, along with a "will not write" list from other food writers. At the top of her list of no-gos were "hatchet jobs," where a negative article/review is written just to write something negative or tear someone down. The other writers all agreed that they didn't want to do those types of pieces either. Anthony Bourdain said that the overly "happy" pieces weren't for him and neither are restaurant reviews. Peter Elliot won't write any idea that he didn't come up with himself, and Michael Ruhlman strongly prefers to, as well.

This topic poses an interesting question for food bloggers, though. Even though not all (not by a longshot!) food bloggers are professional writers or journalists, there are still things that each will and won't write about. So tell us, because we care about the rest of the writers and not just the pros, what won't you write about on your food blog? Do you do recipes, but not restaurant reviews? Photos, but not recipes? Do you write for your audience, or just for yourself?

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Congrats and a huge round of applause for S'kat, aka Shelley Rauch, in Virgina. Her blog S'kat and the Food has long been on the regular reading list here at Slashfood HQ and has caught the eye of a local newspaper. She is now a full-time, "proper journalist."

Her latest post explains all. From the joy and excitiment of writing on her blog, which was launched just as an outlet for her photography and writing, through to the newspapers approach. Shelly will be writing a weekly restaurant review for the newspaper and two food related stories per month.

Great news that a talented blogger has found regular work with something she loves. (Her blog is changing too and will be at http://dailypress.com/skatandthefood)

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It could be argued that without the work of recently deceased British journalist Michael Bateman, food writing as we know it today would not exist. I like to think that it would have evolved of its own accord because of humanity's drive toward epicureanism, but I'm not so sure.

What I am pretty certain about is that without Bateman, Britain would still be more known for the roast beef and cabbage that comprised a meal when he started his food writing career in the 1960s, rather than today's gastropubs. In addition to broadening the British palate in general, Bateman is also credited with teaching the country that there's more to bread than the sliced white variety. His Campaign for Real Bread was one of many pushes for quality, nutritious food that he undertook in his years at The Sunday Times of London.

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