Everyone’s a Food Writer Because Everyone Has a Story to Tell

I loved this article from thecounter.org, “Who gets to call themselves a food writer? The pandemic made it clear: We all do.” by Jessica Kehinde Ngo. Ngo teaches at an L.A. art school and her elective class on food literature mainly focused on food literary greats that everyone knows. During the pandemic, she looked to other sources for food stories and found a wealth of diverse writings and illustrated graphic food pieces from notable artists and writers from more diverse backgrounds.

I think we all should take something from this. Julia Child will always remain an important voice in the cooking world, along with other culinary notables with years of experience or fame behind them. But I believe reading stories written by everyday people with different backgrounds sharing their stories of cultural and personal significance gives so much more to the culinary field and broadens our understanding of cooking.

It’s a great read. A notable quote from the Ngo’s article:

The pandemic was a reminder that food connects us across the globe. Because of that, we can’t just hear stories from five people. We need to hear everyone’s food stories to actually have a meaningful portrait of what our collective food life is.

Read the full article here:
Who gets to call themselves a food writer? The pandemic made it clear: We all do.

Who gets to call themselves a food writer? The pandemic made it clear: We all do.