Resources

Cooking is a happy culmination of many different influences & conditions. Recipes freeze such variables in time, so that replicas are possible for others down the line. Yet no two cooks - nor their style - are the same, and what we each bring to the table in culture, context and individuality is a beautiful thing.

I haven’t always seen the value in studiously citing my references. With cooking you quickly gobble up the evidence. The lines of inspiration, adapting, borrowing and blatant copying are infamously blurry, made worse through colonialism and now the internet. Like many arenas, food blogging is constantly becoming more instantaneous and visually digestible. On one hand - the one where people want recipes now - it seems no one could give a rats-ass about your nerdy research that may or may not have gone into it. On the other , one’s breadcrumb trail of learnings tell a story. They provide precious context, and I think only help shower the recipe in all it’s deserved specialness.

This context makes recipes slower to consume, but in chewing them over, I think the flavour & experience is stronger. It becomes something that keeps us satiated, beyond filling our bellies. I’m committed to improving at this. I believe there’s only wonderful things to be gained from democratising resources, seeking food justice & a more delicious world!

Food Writing Books

In The Kitchen: Essays on Food and Life

Julie & Julia

Julie Powell

New Voices on Food: Diversity in Food Media

Lee Tran Lam (editor)

Dirt

Gemma Walsh and Katie Kerr

Eating For England

Nigel Slater

Taste: My Life Through Food

Stanley Tucci

Eating With My Mouth Open

Home Cooking: a writer in the kitchen

Laurie Colwin

Omelette: food, love, chaos and other conversations

Jessie Ware

Vegan & Gluten Free Baking

My on-going series, Everything I Know About Vegan & Gluten Free Baking on YouTube delivers the gist of my findings in this area. The texts I’ve found helpful are listed below.