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by Suzanne Buchert
The Art of Eating...and Reading! “To
Begin: There are two kinds of books about eating: Those that try to
imitate Brillat-Savarin’s, and those that try not to.” I would submit that there are two kinds of readers about eating. There are those who read a recipe in order to prepare a dish and those who devour entire cookbooks, magazines and books about cooking for pure enjoyment. I started reading about cooking when I discovered the St. Paul Pioneer Press food writer, Eleanor Ostman. Her column appeared in the Sunday paper beginning in 1968 and continued long after I moved from Minnesota and no longer had access to the paper. I grew up in a Midwestern meat and potatoes household and her recipes were mostly delicious sounding variations on that theme. They were not so unusual that they would not appeal to her audience, but they provided some new twists on the Betty Crocker-Good Housekeeping cookbooks in general use in most home kitchens. Over the years I have collected a number of cookbooks from various regions of this country, from other countries, and books that specialized in certain foods that I liked to eat or to cook. (I have a fine collection of small books featuring scones, one of my specialties). I have subscribed to Gourmet and Bon Appetite and now have a hefty collection of Saveur magazines on my kitchen book shelf. I have read the name M.F.K. Fisher in food columns through out the years. Those who mentioned her in their writings seemed to revere her as the “Mother of Food Writing”. A couple of years ago I ran across a huge volume of M.F.K. Fisher writings. It was a 50th Anniversary Edition of “The Art of Eating”. It was on sale. It took its place on my shelf, not in the kitchen with the cookbooks, but in my room along with other books to be read. Last winter I selected it and began my journey into the life and times of Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher. The Art of Eating is a collection of five works by Fisher: “Serve It Forth” from 1937, “Consider The Oyster” from 1941, “How To Cook A Wolf” from 1942, “The Gastronomical Me” from 1943, and “An Alphabet For Gourmets” from 1949. There are numerous introductions to this volume including accolades from such culinary luminaries as Julia Child and James Beard. There are notes inserted by Fisher critiquing herself or updating some of the things she espoused so many years ago. There are recipes included, some of them timeless classics, some of them, especially in the case of “How To Cook A Wolf” masterpieces of variations and substitutions meant to assist cooks coping with shortages and rationing during the World War II. “Serve it Forth” gives an introduction to M.F.K. Fisher and her journey into her intense interest and appreciation for food, not just to nourish, but to enjoy. As she tells the reader, enjoying food was a foreign concept in her childhood. Enjoyment was a bit suspect itself. She overcame that notion with help from various persons who passed through her life. They showed her the pleasure to be had from thoughtfully prepared good food. Once she came to appreciate good food, she spent her life opening up that possibility to others. “Consider The Oyster” is an entire book dedicated to the enjoyment of oysters. It is witty and mouth watering. “How To Cook A Wolf” depicts the difficulties of feeding a family during a time of privation. It pays special attention to the nourishment that was the main consideration of meals when she was a child, but with the addition of making the meal an occasion of celebration. “The Gastronomical Me” returns to Fisher’s life and “An Alphabet For Gourmets” finishes the volume with some pretty unusual choices, always with an eye on enjoyment. This volume is a big undertaking and as such, I read sections, set it down, read something else and then returned to read another section. I found it well worth the time spent. Of course, I have Ostman’s recent book “Always on Sunday” on my shelf along with a copy of Roy Andries de Groot’s “Feasts For All Seasons”. Just in case I get hungry for good food writing. Even in the midst of a hectic life, time should be reserved for reading. And so…..keep reading.
Suzanne Buchert and her husband, Keith, own several restaurants.
sbuchert@hotmail.com
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