203 Quotes About Food-writing

From the perspective of almost everyone else in the world, the Japanese have an enviable relationship with food. Japanese cuisine - with its focus on fresh vegetables, even fresher fish, delicate soups and exquisitely presented rice dishes - has a global reputation for healthiness.

But we haven’t paid anything like enough attention to another consequence of being omnivores, which is that eating is not something we are born instinctively knowing how to do, like breathing. It is something we learn.

After all, as omnivores, we were not born knowing what to eat. We all had to learn it, every one of us, as children sitting expectantly, waiting to be fed.

Our urge to avoid eating something that makes us feel sick is often at the root of disordered eating, as we swerve away from whole categories of foods that we imagine would make us feel uneasy.

I think food writing tends to be pompous and, generally speaking, not for the masses. I try to make sure my writing doesn’t come across as pretentious. In fact, my food book, Lisbon in 100 Bites, is quite the opposite of this. It’s about real Portuguese food, in a down-to-earth environment.