{"id":21087,"date":"2019-03-26T01:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T08:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=21087"},"modified":"2019-09-27T11:44:07","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T18:44:07","slug":"an-introduction-to-foodie-culture-so-you-can-write-foodie-novels-by-mj-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/26\/an-introduction-to-foodie-culture-so-you-can-write-foodie-novels-by-mj-post\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introduction to Foodie Culture So You Can Write Foodie Novels By MJ Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist MJ Post<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cAn Introduction to Foodie Culture So You Can Write Foodie Novels,\u201d the second in her series. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

“A foodie is a person who is very, very, very interested in food.”<\/strong> — Ann Barr and Paul Levy, 1984, New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m interested in food — because I need it for survival, for energy, for mood — you know, all the usual reasons. But food is my entertainment as well.\u00a0 In my last column<\/a> I talked about the rise of food TV and about food novels, too.<\/p>\n

That I should be entertained by food is startlingly ironic<\/strong>, because I\u2019ve been a miserably picky eater since childhood, when I used to do things like smuggle unwanted vegetables in my pocket to flush down the toilet when I was later excused from the dinner table.<\/p>\n

Yep. MJ is pretty crazy, yo, but you knew that, right? #nuttyastwofruitcakes #readonigetevencrazier<\/p>\n

Picky eater aside, food IS entertaining. (Are you a foodie?)<\/h2>\n

Food is about personality and passion and pride and place, about individual taste, about trend, about discovery. It\u2019s about variety.<\/p>\n

And the variety of experience you can have is infinite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing this series to tell you about what\u2019s involved in writing fiction about food. To do that, I want to introduce you to the culture of FOODIES, who will make good characters for your food fiction.<\/p>\n

If you study foodies to understand what they do, or if you even decide to be one, you will get loads of ideas for plot and characterization, not to mention setting (hello restaurants!) and recipes for people in your story to prepare and eat.<\/p>\n

Foodies<\/h2>\n

FOODIES are people who consider exploring the realm of food to be their principal source of entertainment and pleasure in life. (Warning: some people in the culinary realm don\u2019t like the term.)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t quite qualify,<\/strong> because of that picky eater issue mentioned earlier, but I do enjoy learning about restaurants and ingredients, I like to try new places and brands frequently, enjoys studying food advertising and packaging, I love the thrills (and totally cheer) during TV food competitions, I find certain celebrity chefs sexy (and others REALLY NOT sexy), and I\u2019ve generally spent a lot of time reading recipes, studying up on ingredients, and watching The Food Network. Whew!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Check out this photo shared with me by my annoying bald coworker, taken during his trip to the Czech Republic with his lovely wife from their evening spent at a restaurant. (Image credit: Matt Posner, December 2018).<\/p>\n

Did you ever think you\u2019d see a meal like that?<\/strong> Eight meats including duck and wild boar, plus some grilled vegetables and French fries?<\/p>\n

Okay, it\u2019s probably a heart attack in the making unless you share it in a group of highly carnivorous friends, but how inventive a combination, and how interesting the plating is!<\/p>\n

By the way, here\u2019s the restaurant: http:\/\/www.uzlatehohada.cz\/cz\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RESTAURANTS ARE ONE SOURCE OF EXCITEMENT FOR FOODIES.<\/h2>\n

Restaurants are one source of excitement for foodies. Both their perennial favorites, where they can try out the latest special, and new spaces that offer potential surprises in dish, flavor, and decor can give a foodie (or foodie couple, or foodie social circle) a rewarding week-end or vacation.<\/p>\n

Some restaurants get their reputations for food quality.<\/strong> If you have money to spend, look for the ones with Michelin stars, as those are the most admired restaurants in the world (and they sometimes need to be booked far in advance).<\/p>\n

If you are on a more modest budget, just ask around or check the local media reviews. You can also try to find a food blogger in your area who will tell you where to go and where to avoid. Of course, your taste may not match that of a reviewer, but restaurants you will enjoy can be anywhere.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also learned that restaurants will find YOU if you hashtag their cuisine in a public post on Instagram.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So if you have a public account and you post a picture of sashimi with hashtags like #japanesefood #japaneserestaurant #bestsushi #bestsashimi and #foodiesof<yourhometown>, restaurants will start following you and hope you follow back.<\/p>\n

You can also click on those hashtags and see who else is using them to find restaurants that way.<\/p>\n

Some of them may suck, of course, but being a foodie is about trying new things and taking risks to get the good rewards.<\/p>\n

Some restaurants are about unusual dining experiences.<\/strong> I think that Czech restaurant above might be that kind of place.<\/p>\n

Here are a some cool and seriously strange examples.<\/p>\n