066 - Ronni Lundy, Victuals

Explicit content warning

03/18/17 • 65 min

Writing Work. Victuals Love. Sorghum and Salt. Welcome to the third in a series of FOUR podcasts celebrating the Virginia Festival of the Book! From March 16th-19th you will hear from the country's best and brightest when it comes to food writing. Today's episode? Food writer Ronni Lundy whose newest creation, Victuals, is a celebration of Appalachian foodways, one ingredient at a time. Victuals just won the 2017 IACP award for American Cookbook of the Year and is a finalist for the James Beard award in American Cooking. Seed saver Bill Best has called Victuals, "The 67th book of the bible!" and I agree wholeheartedly. This volume is going all the way baby! Ronni will be appearing at three events as part of the festival, including a talk I'm moderating, "Save Room! Cookbooks With a Sweet Tooth!" Event details are listed below.

This episode is a re-airing of the lovely talk I had with Ronni at the tail end of the 2015 Appalachian Food Summit. Can you really get a sense of a region's history through one ingredient? This food writer and Appalachia advocate knows you can. Her books, Victuals, and Sorghum's Savor do just that. While both contain recipes, a good portion of the books talk about ingredient history, what each is and isn't, and the fascinating stories behind the folks who bring that food to your table.

As one of the founders of the Appalachian Food Summit, Ronni knows such stories are integral to understanding the evolution of a culture. Which is why we begin this episode's discussion around the history of salt. At the 2015 gathering, we were fortunate enough to have Nancy Bruns of JQ Dickinson Salt Works, a 7th generation salt farmer. Nancy considers salt an agricultural ingredient because in her words it is harvested from the ground and ripened by the sun. The history and evolution of this ingredient relate well to Appalachia's history as a land of extraction, as well as providing a base camp for all sorts of stories and anecdotes related to its history, harvest, and use.

Appalachia is a storytelling culture, and Ronni deftly uses this to incorporate important lessons into her tales. Because the purpose of the summit is to not only preserve but to move Appalachia into the growing, abundant, thriving, economically and environmentally productive region we all know it can be. It's an heirloom that just needs a little spit shine. It's time for a revival.

The fellowship from food gatherings is one of the hallmarks of Appalachia. Food as communion. Food as revival. Not food as performance where chefs come out after sweating their butts off in a kitchen just to receive a smattering of applause. There's a reason people crave the homemade meals from their upbringing. Food grown from heritage seeds taste better, keep longer, are better for the environment, and preserve history.

We discuss The Appalachian Food Summit, its goals, and how Facebook helped get it started, Why was it important to serve the meal at the 2015 gathering cafeteria style? What exactly does Chef Travis Milton mean when he called this dinner a "fancy-ass Picadilly"?

You're in for a treat guys. Ronni Lundy is a kick-ass broad. You're going to learn a lot. But these lessons are mixed in with great stories. Or as Ronni's says, "A little sugar before your medicine." Enjoy this episode then head out to all three events! See you there!

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Hear Ronni's talk at the 2016 Appalachian Food Summit: The Biscuit Love Rocking Chair Keynote: The Magical Mammy & the Granny Woman: How Malinda Russell’s Journeys Break the Chains of Myth Toni Tipton-Martin, author of the James Beard Award-winning, The Jemima Code and Ronni Lundy of Victuals discuss how exploring foodways can give voice to people and cultures otherwise ignored or misrepresented in history, and how t...

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065 - Todd Kliman, The Wild Vine, Best American Food Writing 2016

Wine Work. Taco Work. Writing Work. Welcome to the second in a series of FOUR podcasts celebrating the Virginia Festival of the Book! From March 16th to 19th you will hear from the country's best and brightest when it comes to food writing. Today's episode? Award-winning food author Todd Kliman, former critic for The Washingtonian, author of The Wild Vine, and a contributor to this year's Best American Food Writing series. Todd will be appearing at an event Sunday, March 26th at JMRL as part of that series. Event details are listed below.

I first became aware of Todd's writing because of his Oxford American piece on Peter Chang which went viral and did much to promote that nomadic chef's mystique. But it was during Todd's 2014 presentation at the SFA Summer Symposium in Richmond, where he talked about his book The Wild Vine, that I knew I'd have to meet him somehow. The Wild Vine isn't just about grapes, but about identity, immigration, and overcoming fear to reinvent yourself. A truly American-born idea. Daniel Norton discovered the only true American grape, the Norton, way back in Jefferson's time. Norton Street, a 2-block long narrow lane in Richmond marks the location of Magnolia Farm where the discovery took place. His gravestone in Shockhoe Hill Cemetery lies forlornly in a forgotten corner.

"I didn't write the book because I'm a lover of Norton...I like it...but I like it for what it seems to embody to me...I knew that this was a good story."

Today accomplished vintner Jenni McCloud of Chrysalis Vineyard is Norton's champion, an expert in appreciating this often overlooked and misunderstood wine and the only transgender vineyard owner in America. Recognition for Norton and his grape are building. Developments are happening. Listen to learn more. The book is marvelous, such a great story, and it was a thrill to discuss it with him.

Likewise, Todd's piece in the Best of American Food Writing 2016 is about way more than tacos and mezcal in Mexico. It's about democracy, his own sense of disorientation, then discovery, and the danger and sense of extremity of culture that permeates everything when you live on the edge of the volcano that is Mexico City. How does one bite of a beetle transport you back 400 years while at the same time showing you the future of foodstuffs? We talk about it.

"You can tell a story and that will be interesting on its surface...but if there's going to be a connection...there has to be something for me to speak through...I have to be able to connect with it...to bond with it...so I can get into the deeper tissue of it and then write from out of that...my heart and my brain is entirely engaged."

Most people don't even know what food writing is, assuming we're all either cookbook authors or critics. Which simply isn't the case. Food writing goes deep causing the writer to think, to consider, to connect. When you read a Yelp review or even a review from an esteemed critic, it's flat, consisting of their opinions and stars. A soundbite that doesn't do nearly enough to encompass the real work and passion dozens of folks have done to bring forth that meal to your plate.

"I think a piece of writing should be an experience in its own right...when you read it, it stands alongside it, that experience of eating at the restaurant...But that's not how most people come at it...most people want the information (only)."

The eating environment has changed as well, with fewer folks being "regulars" at restaurants. There's just not that many places for folks to meet face to face anymore and when they do, they're on their phones. Social media has changed food. It's changed how people connect on an elemental level. What is Todd doing to fix that? Stay tuned! Like Norton and McCloud, Todd is in the process of reinvention, refusing to be pigeonholed into the "food writer" label. He left his position at The Washingtonian and is expanding his horizons, including a new book which explores yearning, loss, memory, time, and the nature of joy called, "Happiness is Otherwise". Look for it soon. After this conversation? I can't wait to read it.

"One of the things I find liberating about not ...

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067 - Jason Tesauro, The Modern Gentleman, Best American Food Writing 2016

Writing Work. With Wine and Intention. Welcome to the last in a series of FOUR podcasts celebrating the Virginia Festival of the Book! From March 16th to 19th you will hear from the country's best and brightest when it comes to food writing. Today's episode? Writer and sommelier Jason Tesauro, author of The Modern Gentleman and a contributor to this year's Best American Food Writing series for his profile of chef Bo Bech. Jason will be appearing at an event Sunday, March 26th at JMRL as part of a panel discussion. Event details are listed below.

I first became aware of Jason's writing because of his book. We know so many of the same people in the food world and I'm sure we've met briefly during my many forays to Barboursville Vineyards where he's been a sommelier for 15 years. So it was a thrill to finally coordinate our busy schedules for a talk. Not just any journalistic back and forth, but a real honest-to-goodness deep conversation about food writing which evolved into his philosophy of setting your intention as you move throughout your day. And your life. Something I can definitely get behind in this age of instant gratification. Slowing down. Making that tiny bit of extra effort. Living awake and aware.

"My job as a writer...I want you to see past my words into the intention of that grower of that chef of that restaurateur."

Jason's passion comes out in the piece selected for this year's Best Of series about Chef Bo Bech, a Michelin-starred chef in Denmark, who self-describes as "Complicated Simple". With every beautiful raw ingredient he selects, he sets his intention to transforms it for the plate, while preserving its simple essence. For example, changing the shape of an avocado so when you go to taste it your mouth goes on a journey of discovery and surprise. Chef Bech is no precious "Tweezer Punk" (Tesauro's term), but an innovative chef exploring boundaries. Pushing the diner's expectations and understanding of an ingredient. Continually setting his intention with every plate to create a unique dining experience for his patrons. One so special they'll never forget it. Which behooves Jason to take a similar approach when it comes to reporting.

"The complicated part is how do I put my ego aside and how can I explore the humanity? It's about a beet, but it's not really the beet, it's the the heartbeat of the grower who survived the winter and made the ground sing."

The deeper themes are the complicated part when it comes to food writing. Tesauro's piece is a travelogue of Virginia with Jason taking Chef Bech to all his favorite haunts, "foraging" simple ingredients for a one-off pop up in New York called The Bride of the Fox. Fifteen hundred people signed up, but only six invitations went out. A mere ninety minutes before the dinner was due to start. How did Jason get this sweet gig? What was his game plan? Listen to find out.

"What I love about Bo Bech's food, he will take two ingredients that we're all familiar with and put them on a plate in a mashup we've never experienced...I think Bo never plays it safe. And I'm drawn to artists who live in that space...I like to be around people who are not pushing the envelope for innovation's sake, but they're challenging themselves to evolve and grow."

Not resting on your laurels. Pushing yourself to do more. Jason is an embodiment of that himself, a true Renaissance man who not only writes, works as a sommelier, but who has created an entire lifestyle choice with his book and website The Modern Gentleman which espouses the belief no matter your age or background, there's no reason to move through life sloppy and half-assed, as my Momma used to say. The origin story behind the book fascinated me, then convinced me to buy a copy for my nephew. Because a huge part of that story involves setting your intention, saying "Yes" to opportunities, and overcoming fear. Just showing up.

"To me intention is the important word here. Because the intention behind growing, behind sourcing, behind plating, I think that is immediately apparent (when it comes to restaurants). The 3-star (restaurant) wanted to show me their ego. They wanted the show. The 1-star nourished me and showed me her heart and her intention. And I came away with an understanding of each dish. A memory. Wheras the 3-star was a blitz of theater, of smoke, of polished meticulousness. But it felt souless."

Future plans? Jason recently submitted a wine piece to Esquire. It's one h...