Life and Art from FT Weekend The best food writing is personal
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Oct 13, 2023 A fascinating conversation about food memoirs featuring chef Ravinder Bhogal, 19-year-old baker Kitty Tait, and memoirist Angela Hui. Topics include baking bread as a lifesaver, struggles with mental health in the food industry, breaking traditional formats in food writing, and overcoming anxiety and imposter syndrome.
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Food Writing Is Inherently Transportive
- Food writing is transportive because it engages smell, touch and sound to trigger memory and emotion.
- That sensory power makes food an ideal vehicle for telling cultural and personal stories.
Baking As A Lifeline
- Kitty began baking at 14 to cope with crippling anxiety and depression and found purpose in the practice.
- She turned that experience into a joyful memoir with her father called Breadsong about baking and mental health.
A Takeaway Childhood
- Angela grew up working behind her parents' Chinese takeaway from age eight and only realised the experience's uniqueness after the shop closed in 2018.
- The closure prompted her to document the community role the takeaway played and the tales behind the counter.