Foodies USA
Have you noticed how many beautiful food blogs have been launched? Each invites us, via personal anecdotes and mouth-watering artful photography, to try their newest recipe.
Book Review: American Foodie, Taste, Art, and the Cultural Revolution
Author: Dwight Furrow
Search Pinterest and multiple recipe versions display for your selection. Ayurvedic, Diabetic, Paleo, Probiotic… so many new specific cookbooks are available even some dedicated to only one ingredient: think Melissa’s Hatch Chile Cookbook. Then there are novels, self-help, travel books — many now include the actual recipes for meals mentioned in their stories. And don’t forget the wine and chef movies.
Fifty years ago we would cut-out a recipe from a newspaper or magazine but most food instructions were hand-written and shared on recipe cards by home cooks who maybe owned one or two cookbooks tops. Julia Child was alone on the TV set. Now we have traditional TV channels with food-focused programming trying to compete with and capture the 24/7 cable food show audiences. Gourmet food-trucks and innovative, leading-edge chefs serve fresh local fare in exotic and authentic dishes in a variety of creative styles and venues. What’s this all about?
In this new book, author Dwight Furrowan, inspiring Professor of Philosophy and Certified Specialist of Wine, makes his case we are part of the 21st Century food culture revolution. He discusses his rational from various angles and guides us into understanding and appreciating what and why we are in revolt. In American Foodie, Taste, Art and the Cultural Revolution you’ll discover all the nuances of the foodie movement. Granted it reads a bit like a thesis but if you stick with it you will find it contains a wealth of observation, reflection, and thoughtful explanation of this food revolution in America. It’s a great resource for all foodies, wanna-be’s and those interested in cultural trends and how change evolves.
“…does it really matter whether we eat quality food or not as long as it is nutritious and affordable? The short answer is that it does matter, although explaining why it matters will take up a good portion of this book. In brief, my argument will be that the food revolution is a legitimate attempt to replace meanings that are lost when the bureaucratic, digitized reality of the modern workplace colonizes all dimensions of life. As to the complaint that the food revolution is just a hedonistic diversion for a few well-situated status seekers, this perspective does not fit the facts very well…” Dwight Furrowan, American Foodie, Introduction.
