So far in my ILC I have mainly focused on the first of my two learning objectives; To explore examples of food used in and as storytelling. My first four weeks were devoted to reading and reflecting on The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty, a narrative account of Twittys journey through time and place as a means to explore his ancestral connection to food and people. Twittys descriptions of his own family and their traditions both reminded me of important meals within my own family, but also served as the inspiration for my first weekly writing prompts which I continue to use as guidance for my menu project.
The Cooking Gene explores Twittys ancestral, religious, and personal history, giving the reader a look into how food tell stories when traced throughout history and the many important aspects one must look at when trying to paint a full picture. In the time of slavery in the United States one must consider who grew the food, who harvested it, who cooked it, and what the chef was given for dinner. When discussing food and Jewish heritage, we must consider the inherent danger that has historically been associated with cultural or religious ties to Judaism. Twitty searches through the historical experiences of his identities to understand or explain foods important to him, ending each chapter with at least one recipe.
Using this book I created the outline for my personal menu project, which I aim to be the final product of my project. I started by brainstorming foods I remembered eating as a child, writing down everything I could remember as well as reaching out to my parents, grandparents, and younger sister. I started to separate my list into sections as I was able to make distinctions with time and place, and I spoke multiple times with my mother about specific family meals and traditions. Each weeks writing prompts were written to help me begin writing about these foods and memories, and from them I started writing longer pieces that correspond with the items on my list. By week four I had the first draft of my menu items and a corresponding piece of writing detailing a Christmas memory I shared with my father. I was unsatisfied with where the piece went after my opening vignette, finding my wiring too messy and harshly comparing myself to Twittys chapters. Reading from The Taste Culture Reader helped me past this block, especially the short yet enticing writings by M.F.K Fisher in The Pale Yellow Glove. Fishers more poetic writing style helped me tap into a more artistic side of myself, helping to create a cohesive and more colorful narrative for my first menu section.
Moving into week 6 I will begin to explore more surrounding food and taste developments, hopefully speaking to my parents about what my first foods were and the way my taste preferences have changed as I have grown up, as well as reading from First Bite: How We Learn to Eat by Bee Wilson and Taste What You’re Missing: The Passionate Readers Guide to Why Food Tastes Good by Barb Stuckey. I did use Stuckey’s book in my Sophomore year class, but I lost some credit due to issues with my health, and it’s also been a few years so there are defiantly a few sections I really want to revisit. Now that we are at the mid-point of the quarter I am pretty sure that this is a project I am going to continue at least through Winter quarter so I am trying to decide what I want to be finished by the end of fall. I am thinking that having a rough draft for each section that I could continue to make small changes to throughout winter would be a good place to be in, and then I can spend winter cooking through menu items, and writing an ILC project guide. I wrote a greenhouse project guide for my summer ILC, but for some time now I have wanted to dedicate a large chunk of project time to creating an ILC guide that could help a larger variety of students, as well as creating a few completed ILC proposals that could be available to first time ILC students, as could include a reading list for the first five weeks and then offer a research guide that encourages students to explore campus resources for their last five weeks of research.
I am happy with where this project is headed, it seems like it has a lot of potential and many different forms it could take but so far each of my readings has been so enjoyable that I am exited for whichever direction it takes. I am curious what I will find as I explore the nature vs nurture and development aspects of food histories over the next few weeks and how I will envelop it into my final project, and my search for answers about food and self.