Celebrating the artistry of culinary craftsmanship.
I think of cooking as a creative and cultural experience, in addition to being functional and something to share with friends and family. Here is an eclectic group of organizations, websites and books that celebrate the creativity of food, drink, eating and cooking experienced in various ways.
“Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine”
Edible Arts is a site that is written and edited by Dwight Furrow, Ph.D., who is committed to the idea that “food and wine can be as deeply meaningful as painting or music.” He has written a book called American Foodie: Taste, Art, and the Cultural Revolution where he argues that “a good portion of the world has taken food beyond its functional definition to fine art status. From celebrity chefs to amateur food bloggers, individuals take ownership of the food they eat as a creative expression of personality, heritage, and ingenuity.” https://foodandwineaesthetics.com
Books About Food is a website that showcases books about eating, food and drink, and the people involved in creating them. It began on Instagram in 2016, inspired by the two founders’ love of eating. Their focus is on beautifully designed books. They do not rate or review the books; they just appreciate the quality of the design. Their community is comprised of chefs, cooks, authors, designers, photographers, stylists, and anyone else who supports these folks and their work in this popular form of artistry. It is a fun website to browse if you are a follower of the eating, cooking, and drinking genre.
America’s Test Kitchen: For the Love of Cooking
Their mission is to help curious cooks become confident cooks who appreciate their own creativity. This organization was founded in 1993, and it has a finger in every pie to do with cooking. The staff is comprised of test cooks, editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookbook specialists. Their goal is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen – all the elements of what makes cooking, eating, and drinking a genuine form of art and culture.
They create TV shows for public television, magazines, websites, cookbooks (with more than 10 million sold and 10+ new titles published every year), an online cooking school with 320+ online courses for novice to advanced cooks, ATK Kids, podcasts, a shop, and an app that is free for members and available for iOS and Android. They test recipes to discover why recipes work and why they don’t. They also test cookware and supermarket ingredients to find the best quality ingredients. They do not accept any advertising. https://www.americastestkitchen.com
This quirky site was founded by Rebecca Ritchey, a freelance writer. It began in 2014 as a photography project to explore food in literature and has expanded to films and television. This blog now features travel, dining, and fashion.
“Librarian by day, food nerd at night.”
This is an Instagrammer who features books with great descriptions of food. In her reviews she includes an excerpt from each book with the characters and food. https://www.instagram.com/eatingreading/?hl=en
This site is “dedicated to the modern food and drink enthusiast through content that is informative, useful, and engaging. Our editorial team aims to make Tasting Table a platform where both cooks and eaters can come for resources and creative inspiration.”
It has 18 million visitors a month. I came across an article in their Culture section called “15 Books Every Food Lover should Read”. The author includes some of my most favorite food writers, like MFK Fisher, Stanley Tucci, Ruth Reichl, and Calvin Trillin. Books about food are NOT to be confused with cookbooks. www.tastingtable.com
“Food may literally be the basis for culture.”
This is a marvelous bookstore dedicated to all aspects of food and drink located in New York City. They have an amazing range of food history and great food writing, and they pride themselves on being the best cookbook store anywhere. They can find out-of-print and scarce books and have 12,000 titles in the store from all over the world. If you are not near New York City, their website is fabulous, and they ship worldwide.
In 2022 The Atlantic published an article called “The 12 Most Unforgettable Descriptions of Food in Literature” by Adrienne LaFrance. The descriptions she includes are integral parts of the plots of the books and are central to the stories. Included are Nora Ephron, Maurice Sendak, and Proust.
If you are not already a subscriber to The Atlantic, you can sign up for a free trial to read the entire article.
Eater is a digital media brand focused on all things food and dining. It has a national site covering food and dining culture with 23 city sites that track local dining scenes, a You Tube channel that features documentary-style video about the inner workings of restaurants, multiple TV series, and a variety of social channels. This article on The Best Food Books To Read This Fall caught my eye. It has eleven works of food-focused fiction and nonfiction. www.eater.com
The Aesthetics of Food: The Philosophical Debate About What We Eat and Drink by Kevin W. Sweeney. This is a philosophical debate about the aesthetic nature of food and wine, beginning with Plato’s position that only objects that could be seen and heard could be beautiful and since food and drink were smelled and tasted, they could not be beautiful. It proceeds through current debates, the changing nature of critical theory and changes in art historical paradigms. It examines how changes in cooking, presentation, food consumption, restaurants and the rise of celebrity chefs has changed the debate. $40.00
