Food writing and food cultures

Abstract

In spite of a growth in sociological and cultural analyses of food practices, little attention has been paid to food writing and cookery books. This article will seek to rectify this by analysing the work of Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson. We argue that their work not only belongs to a predominantly male tradition of gastronomic writing, but that it also seeks to salvage certain forms of female domesticity. While this represents a break with tradition, the particular force of David and Grigson’s work lies in its appeal to culinary authenticity. If the techniques of modern food production threaten the unique flavours of authentic foods, then David and Grigson turn initially to forms of continental cuisine, and then eventually to the traditions of English cuisine, as an antidote to the drive of modernity. We conclude that their response to the processes of modernity is thus an ambivalent one, and one which provides some useful insights into contemporary food concerns.