Food Obsessed in America @LucyBurdette

back on campus

LUCY BURDETTE: This weekend marked mumble mumble mumble years since graduating from Princeton. Though I wasn’t able to attend the weekend reunion, I did accept an invitation to be part of an alumni panel yesterday. (And John, sweet man that he is, agreed to spend our anniversary on this expedition!) The topic was FOOD OBSESSED IN AMERICA. Like most of us mystery writers, I’m well practiced at appearing on panels, usually discussing topics like “where do you get your ideas?” or “how does your setting become a character?” etc, etc. (Unless, of course, it’s a raucous Jungle Red game show panel.)

pregame huddle

But the cast of characters for this panel was different, including an integrative functional medicine physician, a woman teaching underprivileged children to cook, a food journalist, a French food blogger and Harper Collins executive, and an eating and lifestyle coach whose business grew from her own struggles to eat normally. We were each asked to comment on the question: Is America food obsessed, and if so, why? Panelists raised weighty questions such as how important mindful eating is for our health, and the epidemic of obesity in this country, so costly in terms of health and money, and trend for young people to eat out much more than cook in, and the socioeconomic divide between which of us have access to good and healthy food. And which don’t.

fun to look out on sea of orange and black!

And then my turn...I explained that I was the entertainment portion of the panel, and told them about the explosion in food-themed mysteries over the last ten years. They were amazed to hear that there are series about cheese shops, and chocolate shops, and cupcake bakeries, and clambakes, and coffee shops, and gluten-free cooks, and 5-ingredient cooks—the possibilities seem endless. My theory about all this is that readers aren’t necessarily reading these books for the recipes or the food—lots of my readers don’t cook at all. I think they are drawn to the community of characters in the books and the sense of connection that they find in these foodie mysteries. Readers consider our characters to be friends, and enjoy sitting in their kitchens, tasting their food.

As time wound down, we were asked for a brief takeaway from the session. I should have written them down, but here are a few: eat mindfully; eat with joy; food doesn’t have to be a problem…

My takeaway came from a bit of conversation between Hayley and her mother in MURDER WITH GANACHE:
    "Why is it that cooking always makes things feel a little less hopeless?” my mother mused as the vegetables softened.
    “At least we’re doing something,” I said, as she whipped the eggs with a splash of water and stirred them into the pan.
    “We feel like we’re taking care of people when there’s really nothing to be done.” I grinned. “That’s what you taught me anyway.”

Anyway, it was a stimulating day and has me thinking about the bigger questions that were raised. What do you think Reds, is America obsessed with food? And is this good or bad? 

(And just for fun, I've added the picture of me in front of the Alchemist and Barrister restaurant, where I waitressed for several years--early evidence of food obsession...)