Posted by Adam Kuban, September 25, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Paul Levy, a 30-year veteran of UK food writing, says he's grown tired of the macho posturing of today's crop of food writers:
The food writing that's in vogue today consists chiefly of a bellow of bravado. It's a guy thing, sure, but (with a few honorably hungry exceptions) these scribblers mostly ignore what's on the plate. They view themselves as boy hunters and despise sissy gatherers, thrive on the undertow of violence they detect in the professional kitchen, and like to linger on the unappetizing aspects of food preparation. The gross-out factor trumps tasting good as well as good taste.
The perps? Anthony Bourdain and Bill Buford I could see. But the New Yorker's Adam Gopnik? Please.
Levy posits that the new testosterone-laden writing is a way that dudes can show an interest in cooking without looking like wusses. Have you noticed this supposed trend among laddie food scribes?
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 12, 2007 at 4:30 PM
Though much hand-wringing was done about the waning anonymity of food critics last month and in various publications (including here on Serious Eats), Regina Schrambling manages to write a new take on the issue in the Los Angeles Times by going big-picture and surveying all the recent unmaskings.
In the article, Schrambling (Gastropoda) points to instances of food critics either getting outed (Craig LaBan, Philadelphia Inquirer; Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly) or outing themselves (blogger-cum–newspaper critic Danyelle Freeman; legions of food bloggers who don't necessarily try to hide their mugs). Google, she writes, has led to a new openness, though Schrambling doesn't really opine too much on whether that's good or bad, instead gathering the thoughts of those affected as well as critic Gael Greene and Los Angeles restaurateur Eric Greenspan.
Posted by Ed Levine, May 7, 2007 at 12:23 PM
I attended the James Beard Journalism Awards, and as you might imagine I have a few things to say. First of all, the big winners:
Best Food Section: The San Francisco Chronicle rightfully bested the Boston Globe, which has a pretty good food section, and the Chicago Tribune, which really doesn't. One thing to note: The New York Times has a policy against entering.
The Best National Television Show Award went to Gourmet's intriguing attempt at doing something that isn't the same old, same old: "Diary of a Foodie." America's Test Kitchen, which is fun in a geeky way, and Lidia's Family Table, which is homey and heartfelt to the max, rounded out the field.
I have many reservations about the winners in the more heavy-duty writer's categories, and I will be posting about those shortly.
