Ask food writer Antoine Lewis who likes going into the intricacies of food trends about what keeps him passionate about it all and he pauses for a moment, thinks and says that food is a league in itself. The culinary expert who was in the city for the Bangalore Literature Festival talks to TiniSara Anien about the culinary world.
What is the connection between food and literature?
There are several books where food plays a very important role. A popular and simple example is the Harry Potter series, where there are large feasts spread out, which includes English desserts. Another book on food that I loved is 'Scent of Pepper' by Kavery Nambisan. There is a lot being done with the history of recipes now, after looking at works of literature.
Books which are not just cookbooks but also carry a storyline are slowly
becoming popular...
I haven't heard about many Indian authors doing this but there are a lot of international authors who have written about cooking with narratives. It is a great way to express food.
Do you agree that whenever one visits a place, food is an important part of the exploration?
Not always. How Indians understand travel and the local food of a place is unique. (Smiles) Many want to be there and see the sites, but don't want to be polluted by the food. This is changing and people are opening up to regional cuisine, but they still stick to the vegetarian options, which is fine.
How important is food to any culture?
The most important thing about food is that compared to any other stimuli like touch, sight or sound, food is the only thing that is taken into the body. Everything else is external. Food is the most important external element that one takes into the body and makes it their own. In a sense, food is a way of converting the world into your body. This is what French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss talks about — the raw and the cooked. Cooking is a way to understand how one processes the world.
What inspired you to get into the world of food?
I was always inspired by cooking. I went to a hotel management school and left it because I hated the hotel industry. I realised that compared to what I was cooking, I had grown far more than what I was being taught in the course. I meandered through many things. I believe that I got into writing about food because I am a failed restaurateur. (Laughs)
How often do you cook for yourself?
I don't get to cook a lot for myself but I do cook for my girlfriend. I cook a fair amount. I am a very non-traditional cook. I cook in two ways — I'm a refrigerator cook, which means whatever is there in the refrigerator is put together. Or I am a very experimental cook, where I conjure up things in my head and get cooking.
Your favourite cuisine...
I shouldn't be saying this but I'm a big fan of Indian Chinese. This includes the 'manchurians', 'chicken chilly' and fried rice. I think it is the perfect combination of the exotic and the familiar.
If you weren't a food writer, what would you have been?
I would have been a dog walker. I have two dogs. These are my two big passions.
What is the most bizarre or unique food that you've tasted?
I don't believe in the bizarre. I think that anything is edible. The notion of bizarre is very cultural. What is bizarre to one may not be to someone else. People in the West cannot handle coriander. If I had to name something that one wouldn't normally consume but I enjoyed thoroughly, then it would be fried locusts in Bangkok.
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Ask food writer Antoine Lewis who likes going into the intricacies of food trends about what keeps him passionate about it all and he pauses for a moment, thinks and says that food is a league in itself. The culinary expert who was in the city for the Bangalore Literature Festival talks to Tini Sara Anien about the culinary world.
What is the connection between food and literature?
There are several books where food plays a very important role. A popular and simple example is the Harry Potter series, where there are large feasts spread out, which includes English desserts. Another book on food that I loved is 'Scent of Pepper’ by Kavery Nambisan. There is a lot being done with the history of recipes now, after looking at works of literature.
Books which are not just cookbooks but also carry a storyline are slowly
becoming popular...
I haven’t heard about many Indian authors doing this but there are a lot of international authors who have written about cooking with narratives. It is a great way to express food.
Do you agree that whenever one visits a place, food is an important part of the exploration?
Not always. How Indians understand travel and the local food of a place is unique. (Smiles) Many want to be there and see the sites, but don’t want to be polluted by the food. This is changing and people are opening up to regional cuisine, but they still stick to the vegetarian options, which is fine.
How important is food to any culture?
The most important thing about food is that compared to any other stimuli like touch, sight or sound, food is the only thing that is taken into the body. Everything else is external. Food is the most important external element that one takes into the body and makes it their own. In a sense, food is a way of converting the world into your body. This is what French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss talks about — the raw and the cooked. Cooking is a way to understand how one processes the world.
What inspired you to get into the world of food?
I was always inspired by cooking. I went to a hotel management school and left it because I hated the hotel industry. I realised that compared to what I was cooking, I had grown far more than what I was being taught in the course. I meandered through many things. I believe that I got into writing about food because I am a failed restaurateur. (Laughs)
How often do you cook for yourself?
I don’t get to cook a lot for myself but I do cook for my girlfriend. I cook a fair amount. I am a very non-traditional cook. I cook in two ways — I’m a refrigerator cook, which means whatever is there in the refrigerator is put together. Or I am a very experimental cook, where I conjure up things in my head and get cooking.
Your favourite cuisine...
I shouldn’t be saying this but I’m a big fan of Indian Chinese. This includes the 'manchurians’, 'chicken chilly’ and fried rice. I think it is the perfect combination of the exotic and the familiar.
If you weren’t a food writer, what would you have been?
I would have been a dog walker. I have two dogs. These are my two big passions.
What is the most bizarre or unique food that you’ve tasted?
I don’t believe in the bizarre. I think that anything is edible. The notion of bizarre is very cultural. What is bizarre to one may not be to someone else. People in the West cannot handle coriander. If I had to name something that one wouldn’t normally consume but I enjoyed thoroughly, then it would be fried locusts in Bangkok.
What is the connection between food and literature?
There are several books where food plays a very important role. A popular and simple example is the Harry Potter series, where there are large feasts spread out, which includes English desserts. Another book on food that I loved is 'Scent of Pepper' by Kavery Nambisan. There is a lot being done with the history of recipes now, after looking at works of literature.
Books which are not just cookbooks but also carry a storyline are slowly
becoming popular...
I haven't heard about many Indian authors doing this but there are a lot of international authors who have written about cooking with narratives. It is a great way to express food.
Do you agree that whenever one visits a place, food is an important part of the exploration?
Not always. How Indians understand travel and the local food of a place is unique. (Smiles) Many want to be there and see the sites, but don't want to be polluted by the food. This is changing and people are opening up to regional cuisine, but they still stick to the vegetarian options, which is fine.
How important is food to any culture?
The most important thing about food is that compared to any other stimuli like touch, sight or sound, food is the only thing that is taken into the body. Everything else is external. Food is the most important external element that one takes into the body and makes it their own. In a sense, food is a way of converting the world into your body. This is what French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss talks about — the raw and the cooked. Cooking is a way to understand how one processes the world.
What inspired you to get into the world of food?
I was always inspired by cooking. I went to a hotel management school and left it because I hated the hotel industry. I realised that compared to what I was cooking, I had grown far more than what I was being taught in the course. I meandered through many things. I believe that I got into writing about food because I am a failed restaurateur. (Laughs)
How often do you cook for yourself?
I don't get to cook a lot for myself but I do cook for my girlfriend. I cook a fair amount. I am a very non-traditional cook. I cook in two ways — I'm a refrigerator cook, which means whatever is there in the refrigerator is put together. Or I am a very experimental cook, where I conjure up things in my head and get cooking.
Your favourite cuisine...
I shouldn't be saying this but I'm a big fan of Indian Chinese. This includes the 'manchurians', 'chicken chilly' and fried rice. I think it is the perfect combination of the exotic and the familiar.
If you weren't a food writer, what would you have been?
I would have been a dog walker. I have two dogs. These are my two big passions.
What is the most bizarre or unique food that you've tasted?
I don't believe in the bizarre. I think that anything is edible. The notion of bizarre is very cultural. What is bizarre to one may not be to someone else. People in the West cannot handle coriander. If I had to name something that one wouldn't normally consume but I enjoyed thoroughly, then it would be fried locusts in Bangkok.
Ask food writer Antoine Lewis who likes going into the intricacies of food trends about what keeps him passionate about it all and he pauses for a moment, thinks and says that food is a league in itself. The culinary expert who was in the city for the Bangalore Literature Festival talks to Tini Sara Anien about the culinary world.What is the connection between food and literature?
There are several books where food plays a very important role. A popular and simple example is the Harry Potter series, where there are large feasts spread out, which includes English desserts. Another book on food that I loved is 'Scent of Pepper’ by Kavery Nambisan. There is a lot being done with the history of recipes now, after looking at works of literature.
Books which are not just cookbooks but also carry a storyline are slowly
becoming popular...
I haven’t heard about many Indian authors doing this but there are a lot of international authors who have written about cooking with narratives. It is a great way to express food.
Do you agree that whenever one visits a place, food is an important part of the exploration?
Not always. How Indians understand travel and the local food of a place is unique. (Smiles) Many want to be there and see the sites, but don’t want to be polluted by the food. This is changing and people are opening up to regional cuisine, but they still stick to the vegetarian options, which is fine.
How important is food to any culture?
The most important thing about food is that compared to any other stimuli like touch, sight or sound, food is the only thing that is taken into the body. Everything else is external. Food is the most important external element that one takes into the body and makes it their own. In a sense, food is a way of converting the world into your body. This is what French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss talks about — the raw and the cooked. Cooking is a way to understand how one processes the world.
What inspired you to get into the world of food?
I was always inspired by cooking. I went to a hotel management school and left it because I hated the hotel industry. I realised that compared to what I was cooking, I had grown far more than what I was being taught in the course. I meandered through many things. I believe that I got into writing about food because I am a failed restaurateur. (Laughs)
How often do you cook for yourself?
I don’t get to cook a lot for myself but I do cook for my girlfriend. I cook a fair amount. I am a very non-traditional cook. I cook in two ways — I’m a refrigerator cook, which means whatever is there in the refrigerator is put together. Or I am a very experimental cook, where I conjure up things in my head and get cooking.
Your favourite cuisine...
I shouldn’t be saying this but I’m a big fan of Indian Chinese. This includes the 'manchurians’, 'chicken chilly’ and fried rice. I think it is the perfect combination of the exotic and the familiar.
If you weren’t a food writer, what would you have been?
I would have been a dog walker. I have two dogs. These are my two big passions.
What is the most bizarre or unique food that you’ve tasted?
I don’t believe in the bizarre. I think that anything is edible. The notion of bizarre is very cultural. What is bizarre to one may not be to someone else. People in the West cannot handle coriander. If I had to name something that one wouldn’t normally consume but I enjoyed thoroughly, then it would be fried locusts in Bangkok.