I prattle on a lot about eating as a spiritual act, and I believe it. But to say it’s a spiritual act does not claim eating as eternally positive. Halos and cornflakes don’t always go together. To claim eating as spiritual is to affirm it as an act of meaning. As the oft-quoted culinary philosophy…
Category: Books
Ginsberg on waiting
Debra Ginsberg’s Waiting is a wonderful book. Part memoir, part social commentary, it’s a thoughtful reflection on twenty years of waitressing in American restaurants. From New York to California, from luncheonettes and bistros to pizza parlours and fine dining rooms, Ginsberg’s journey is diverse. At points, her story is quite moving. As is typical of…
Cooking and calling
Commonly, the experience of ‘calling’ in the Christian faith is approached as a mysterious thing and highly prized; to have heard ‘the call’ is to have entered the ranks of the spiritual elite. Tragically, such a mystical approach leaves the majority of Christians in the stands; there they sit—excluded and disempowered—destined to be spectators while…
The Spirit of Food
I hate tapas! There, I’ve said it. I can’t stand the current Melbourne obsession with multiple share-plates of miniscule ‘tastings’ that leave me nothing but frustrated and hungry. If I’m gong out to eat I want a meal I can sink my teeth into, as well as my mind. I want substance and depth, not…
From the kitchen to the pulpit
Chefs are not always great writers. There are some wonderful exceptions, but most gifted chefs are doing what they do best without literary diversion. While recipe books abound, to have a chef write more explicitly of what draws him to his profession–and what keeps him there–is rare. It is this that makes Daniel Boulud’s Letters to…
Barbecue: Heaven in the South
I’ve confessed already, I’m a lover of meat. Given my natural preference for the finer things, it’s a crass confession. But there it is. One of my enduring memories of Texas, the home state of my beloved, is of the great Southern tradition of barbecue. Not the backyard variety of charred sausages, sauce and bad coleslaw…
In Praise of Meat
Last night we had lamb for dinner. It was a small, rolled cut stuffed with a combination of breadcrumbs, walnuts and dried fruits, fresh herbs and generous handfuls of onion and garlic. It was delicious. I love the smell of lamb roasting in the oven. It comes with powerful associations … not so much memories as feelings….
Sara Miles’ ‘Take this Bread’
No doubt, one of the best reads for me in the past two years was Sara Miles’ Take this Bread: A Radical Conversion. I can’t claim it a life changer, but as a memoir of conversion centered at the table of God, it’s a book that’s affirmed for me so much about faith, eucharist and church,…
Hotel Babylon
Honestly, it’s such a tawdry read I’m almost embarrassed to say I read it. Hotel Babylon is an atrociously voyeuristic account of a 24-hour period in one of London’s five-star hotels. The storyteller, we are told, is an employee working a double shift on the reception desk. Though it’s more likely an accumulation of experiences…
Halligan’s ‘The Taste of Memory’
In my view, Marion Halligan is one of the most intelligent food writers on Australian shores. While her second food-related memoir, The Taste of Memory, will not suit all palates, I found it a mesmerising and gentle read. As a writer, Halligan is insightful and easy to be with. More importantly, she is wise—a moderating…
EATING HEAVEN 