ideas in food

why do so few good cooks or chefs also write well? ideas in food embodies the philosophy of grounded, inductive, cyclic experimentation (much like robert irwin did), has really interesting ideas in food (and, of course, some quite beautiful photographs of those ideas realized), but the prose is turgid and pretentious to the point of unreadability.

elizabeth david, patience gray, and claudia roden (this fine new yorker article about her by jane kramer is well worth reading) all show that it can be done, and with grace besides. in case anyone thinks i only reference dead people, so does david patterson in this article for the nyt about the curious normalcy of san francisco food; particularly apropos since dinner club is planning an 7x7 blowout when i get there in march. (the anticipation is overwhelming.)