One text that I really liked that we read in class was the “Consider the Lobster” piece by David Foster Wallace. I like the way that he incorporated humor and entertainment as he sought to illuminate his perspective of an event. This article as well as Pete Wells’s reviews, like “Slurping Solo”, taught me that food writing can be very creative. The author can take a lot of liberties that are surprising, unsettling and refreshing all at once. Before this class I didn’t know much about the rhetoric of food, but I definitely didn’t consider humor being a possible element at all, but fortunately I have been proved wrong. We have read many humorous food writing texts in the class and I read many on my own.

The rhetoric of food is all about sharing experiences. It is about connecting with each other, connecting with other cultures and sharing experiences with one another. Writers express their experiences in a myriad of ways (recipes, annotated bibliographies, reviews, essays, poems, articles, blog posts, videos, podcasts). Another important element to consider in the expansive definition of sharing experiences is that each text has a specific audience it is targeted to. I learned the importance of knowing who your audience is through this class, and making sure that what you are producing is appropriate for your audience.

The way writers express their ideas about food is extremely dependent on the audience they are trying to reach. I think the way that these ideas are understood have completely shifted in the past five years. About five years ago, the most common, easiest to consume food writing was found in magazines and on the Food Network. Now, you’re seeing restaurant reviews in the forms of videos and GIFs and the same for recipes. Audience’s attention spans are becoming shorter and quality food content is hard to identify in a massive sea of clutter. The ones that do stick out have drastic affects on what food we consider to be normal and what food we consider to be “ethnic” and “exotic,” which can affect people’s perceptions on cultures as a whole.

After that past semester I think I finally understand what the rhetoric of food is. When signing up for this class, I was unsure of what I would learn. I think that the rhetoric of food is all forms of writing, social media, videos, recipes, and so much more that include communicating food. From recipes to listicles to tasty videos, it is very evident that the rhetoric of food is everywhere and can be portrayed through many different media forms.

The article I enjoyed most was titled Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees. A huge reason why I am a fan of this is due to the fact I love Chinese food. Reading about Kung Pao Chicken really made my mouth water and made me begin to crave Chinese food. I enjoyed looking at pictures of what the chicken looks like and then being able to see how it is made. My favorite out of class read came when I first entered the class and decided I would try to get ahead so I googled random food articles. I landed on http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-11439-round-two.html and I was drawn to it because I love a nice, juicy steak. The article gave me an interesting perspective on a specific restaurant and their steak.

Out of the assigned class readings, my favorite text had to be Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace. This piece forced the readers to think outside of the box and question inherent cultural norms about eating lobster that I never considered before reading the text. As a writer, Foster Wallace does a stellar job of creating imagery of the lobster festival and conveying the ambience of the festivities to the audience. He also does a successful job in genuinely questioning the act of cooking lobsters instead of coming off as condescending and critical, which was very difficult to do considering the stance he took in writing the article. His writing was clearly thought out, original and intentional in making his audience think, instead of mindlessly read an article about a lobster food festival. After reading this text, I was forced to do some internal reflection of my own as a writer to think more about the message I wanted to send in writing my final composition.  

As for texts I read outside of class, my favorite had to be When You’re Here, You’re Famiglia by Matt Goulding. This article is featured on the blog Roads and Kingdoms, which is a travel journalism site that features articles written by people who share an interest in discovering and learning about new parts of the world. This specific article is centered around one of my personal favorite places in the world: Sicily. Yes, I like the text because I’m able to relate to the topic based on my own experiences in Sicily, but I like it for other reasons too. The author is creative in telling a story about the hospitality and culture there through a story about a family who cooked for him. Through his narrative, Goulding is able to transport the reader to the scene and give a vivid depiction of his experiences there. This text served as one of my mentor texts when writing my final composition for it’s

This semester was filled with a wide variety of texts surrounding food that covered a broad spectrum of topics. Now that we’re at the end of the semester, I feel as though I have a much better understanding of what the rhetoric of food means. Texts regarding food can incorporate multiple genres and exist in all different mediums including books, articles, blogs, podcasts, movies, documentaries, and/or short clips. These topics range from how to make food, restaurants, cultures, chefs, history of food, and many more. Pretty much anyone can create a text about food, so the credibility of authors varies, but generally the message of the text is based on the author’s own background, experience with, and knowledge about food. All in all, food something that all humans have in common, and the rhetoric of food represents a body of literature that embodies the all-encompassing nature of food.

I know that the rhetoric of food is not all that serious. It is blog posts and videos along with both profiles recent reviews and yelp comments. It is meant to help you enjoy food and share food with your friends and family. It connects people through shared types of food and has no real style that you have to stick by. It can come in recipes or short stories, in Tasty Videos and ‘people react to __ foods’ videos.

Writers express their ideas about food in a couple of different ways. The first is straight instructions; this can be how to make the ultimate/best type of food with clear guidelines of how to make this. An example of this would be a recipe; this could be in basic text form or in a video format. The next can be how they relate to the food; this takes form in stories of how they discovered or experienced it. This could be an essay about the hunt for the perfect Tamale. The third is how they view food in regards to larger society or how society views the food. This can be seen in Tacopedia where the lens of Taco’s is used to view Mexican culture.

Throughout time the rhetoric of food has been used to communicate any of the above and more in regards to food. History the rhetoric of food has been more focused on the making or preparation of food. With recipes for canning and preserves being mainstays of the early days; over time as restaurants evolved food critiques popped up. Today with blogs, videos, and books the rhetoric of food is shifting more towards the consumer.

The different food cultures that are important to us differ person to person. There are a few basic food cultures: region, community, and health. The region in food cultures can be a countires’ type of food or the specific region of that country. An example of this is Mexican food with specially Baja food. Community is food based on a certain community’s shared trait, an example of this is Jewish food. The last section is health, or lack thereof. Today there is a larger focus on healthy foods or foods that do less harm for the environment. These different food cultures relate to the history of the people who make and consume them.

With food being an indicator of class and race for many people. The different foods someone grew up with tells the story of how they were raised.

Historically the more food options one had the more wealth they had. The different types of food and how they are made and marked down in history informs us of what the different cultures valued or if their cultured was valued by the majority. An example of this is the lack of African American cuisine written down by African Americans prior to the 1920’s. The white majority did not value their culinary contributions enough to give them the due credit or publishing of what they made.

Overall food tells a story and the rhetoric of food tries to tell that story through other ways. With recipes, blogs, books, and videos used as a way to show what food means to the individuals and to groups. It is about connecting through food to another person; be that on the other side of the screen or at the next pot luck or family dinner.

First post:

The selected reading that I liked the most this semester was the Guy Fieri restaurant review.  I thought it was just shockingly funny and definitely a bit too dramatic.  Over the course of the semester I read many restaurant reviews but this one stood out to me by far.  The tone that the author uses and the repeated rhetorical questions make this review a ridiculously entertaining read.  The self-chosen reading that I got the most out of was Jennifer Lee’s “The Search For General Tso.”  I thought this article was super interesting because it talked about the origins of the popular Chinese dish and gave me a completely different perspective on it.

Second Post:

The term “rhetoric of food” is very broad and encompassing, but after this semester has finished I am able to come to terms with its definition a lot better.  Writers express their thoughts about food in many ways.  Some choose to review restaurants and pass on recommendations to other people.  Others write recipes, or write about the history of food and culture.  There are many different mediums, but some that we discussed in class are print, blog, online journal article, podcast, and movie.  Writers use a mix of formal and informal language, depending on their intended audience.  At first this semester I didn’t know anything about the rhetoric of food, but I now tremendously more about the strategies and skills used by authors to create food texts.

As this semester is wrapping up, I am reflecting on how much my understanding of the rhetoric of food has expanded. One of my favorite readings this semester was Lucky Peach‘s “A Guide to Venezuelan Arepas.” Just like with the rhetoric of food, arepas were something that I have always enjoyed without really understanding the context behind them. This article, by Allie Lazar and Gustavo Castillo, gave me a deeper understanding of both the iconic Venezuelan dish and of food writing in general. An arepa is a flattened disc of maize dough that is often served with choose, meats, alone, etc. Not only did this article provide me with a rich history and cultural background of the arepa, it also gave me a great appreciation of the dish. Before reading this article, I did not even know how arepas were made. Lazar and Castilla, however, do a great job at providing the readers with a brief, informative history on the dish and its preparation, the anatomy and fillings of arepas, and different variations, from the nourishing, colorful “huevos pericos” version (with creamy scrambled eggs, tomato, and garlic) to the dessert “arepita dulce” (a sweet version of the dish that is full of authentic, unrefined sugar cane). I did not know how much labor and effort it took to make the delicious circles of fried corn dough. What really stood out to me though was the authors’ connecting of the Venezuelan dish to Venezuela’s present state of affairs. In the past few years, Venezuelan life has been so inflicted with political turmoil and inflation that the Harina P.A.N. flour, that was once so commonly used to make the simple arepa, is now scarce and difficult to find in Venezuela. Still in spite of these obstacles, the people of Venezuela still find ways to consume and make the dish by returning to traditional preparations and using cassava root or sweet potato. By making this connection, the authors of this piece of food rhetoric taught me that the meaning of food is so much deeper than a sensory experience. Both food writing and food itself are ways to bond and connect with people during tough times and can even be a symbol of solidarity and strength. This text illustrated how. behind the delectablly rich, fried arepa, there is an even richer history and meaning. In addition to the actual text, I enjoyed this article for its unique, engaging animations of the different variations of arepas. Though I usually prefer real-life pictures of food, I think that the authors made a stylistic choice that is consistent with Lucky Peach‘s other publications and one that made me remember the authors’ words long after reading.

One of my favorite readings that I chose as part of my outside reading was Smitten Kitchen‘s “blood orange olive oil cake” recipe blog post. While I have been a long-time fan of Deb Perelman’s blog, I did not really fully appreciate her warm, personal writing style until I, myself, had to write an original composition that describes food in a way that’s original and expressive and not hackneyed, which was a lot more difficult than I thought. However, this recipe blog post is an exemplary example of how to write in a way that makes the readers feel as if they themselves were eating the food with the author. With phrases, such as “I was hoping for it to bake in a loaf pan, as rustic everyday cakes should, have a slight crunch at the edges, like a beloved one at a nearby coffee shop does…”, this text creates a personal, homey feeling and connection to the reader. Beyond that, I really enjoyed the time and effort that Deb Perelman took in taking and editing her aesthetically-pleasing pictures; they were the extra cherry-on-top that I needed to be convinced to make this recipe. ASAP. As for the recipe itself, I appreciated that she also took care to provide the reader with additional instructions on special techniques (i.e. how to supreme an orange); the recipe itself is clear and very approachable for beginning bakers. Overall, this piece showed me how all food rhetoric, even recipes, have more than a surface-level meaning. Perelman shows that through her very personal food writing, she creates a community and welcomes her readers into her home.

Because of texts like these and because of the diverse collection of classmates’ original compositions, my understanding of the rhetoric of food has greatly expanded. Before this class, if someone had asked me about the rhetoric of food, I would have automatically only thought of recipes. Clearly, though, I have come to understand that the rhetoric of food is so much more. Food writing is a way to describe a culture, tell a story, advocate for change, connect the current generation with the past, etc. Additionally, the rhetoric of food can take on so many mediums. Not just limited to traditional texts, the rhetoric of food can also be a video, a “listicle”, a food quiz, etc. Simply put, the rhetoric of food is diverse and unlimited. There are so many genres and topics that I cannot believe that I never even considered. After engaging with my classmates’ original compositions, I realized that the rhetoric of food can give great insight into someone’s personality or other talents. For example, some videos showed a person’s tongue-in-cheek humor, while others’ review displayed the writer’s artistic, stylistic skills. This class opened my eyes to the broad world of food writing that I hope to continue to explore outside of our course!

Favorite Texts

We read a lot of great, informative, and unique texts for class.  I think my favorite assigned text was Pete Wells’ review of Guy Fieri’s restaurant.  Although I didn’t like how harsh and sarcastic the author was towards Guy Fieri (who I enjoy watching on television), I thought the language was pretty funny and unique.  It took the meaning of “rhetoric of food” to another level by combining a restaurant review with a comedy vibe.  It was also quite informative even though it was mainly comedic.  It showed a lot of the glaring issues of Fieri’s restaurant, and a small summary of various judgement factors was included at the end.

My favorite text that I chose to read on my own was the Lifehacker article on sushi etiquette that I used for my annotated bibliography.  I really love how compact, versatile, and useful this graphic is.  As someone who loves sushi (it’s my favorite food), I have always wanted to improve my etiquette when eating so that I can have a nicer experience.  This graphic really helps achieve that goal, and I know I’m not the only one in the class who thinks so.  When I presented my annotated bibliography, the two classmates who I presented to both enjoyed this text the most out of all the texts I included.

What Does the Rhetoric of Food Mean?

When I started this course, my only knowledge of food rhetoric was recipes and restaurant reviews.  This course really expanded my interpretation and understanding of how many texts the rhetoric of food truly encapsulates.  As I noted above, food rhetoric can include but is not limited to comedy, drama, theoretical analysis (Consider the Lobster), and instructions (such as recipes).  The medium that food rhetoric takes on is also very diverse.  Images, videos, and text are all thoroughly represented in food literature.