Best Food Writing 2014

October 15, 2014
The 14th installment of a series known for dynamic, immersive food writing. Longtime editor Hughes was challenged with the task of scouring books and magazines for "thoughtful, meaty" material while being a humble sentinel at her dying brother's bedside. The entertaining essays she's collected range in theme from home cooking, extreme palates and industrialized product developments to Cronuts and pickled baloney. A section on contemporary food trends examines the dust-up over big flavors and $4 toast being elevated to the "artisanal plane." Particularly savory and eye-opening pieces include an entomophagist's ingestion of insects as a source of both concentrated nutrition and inspiration; investigative journalist Barry Estabrook's list of five foods plagued by historically questionable sanitization histories and overfarming; and a short report on Monsanto's unsettlingly futuristic vegetable crossbreeding. Updates on prison commissary provisions and the sensationalized "last meal" as an "irresistible blend of food, death, and crime that drives a commercial and voyeuristic cottage industry" are also especially riveting. Among the more charmingly insightful gastronomical nuggets are John Birdsall's perky analysis of American cuisine's ostensive "gay sensibility," food columnist J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's mouthwatering anatomy of a chocolate chip cookie and an exotic tour of street food in Asia from former Men's Health food editor Matt Goulding. Humor and compassion, which Hughes admits sustained her throughout the book's editing process, appear in satisfying doses in essays by self-taught baker Irvin Lin's hilariously tongue-in-cheek recipe for boiling water, memories of homemade ketchup by David Leite and beloved New England novelist Ann Hood's rediscovery of tomato pie. For Hughes, this particular edition of thoughtful food pondering "offered its own path of healing and comfort." Consistent in quality and enthusiasm, Hughes again delivers a cornucopia of varietal amusements for foodophiles whose palates crave invigorating interpretations and perspectives.

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November 1, 2014

Hughes has been the editor of this annual anthology since its inception in 2000. Among this year's contributing writers are: Frank Bruni, Adam Sachs, Laura Taxel, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, and Monica Bhide. The pieces are arranged into sections on "The Way We Eat Now," "Extreme Eating," "A Table for Everyone," "Back to Basics," "Home Cooking," "Stocking the Pantry," "Someone's in the Kitchen," and "Personal Tastes." Even Hughes's introduction is absorbing, telling of her brother's hospice stay and how delicious, carb-filled treats sustained her during that difficult time. The authors address trends such as $4 toast, the satisfaction of a meal after a day of hunting, and health or ethical issues related to food. Each narrative has its own feel but most bring to the forefront the emotions brought out by cooking and eating. VERDICT Recommended for all libraries, this collection has something for connoisseurs, short story fans, and anyone hungry for a good read.--Jane Hebert, Glenside P.L. Dist., Glendale Heights, IL

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Hughes continues her series with a feast of stories from the past year's books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs, all lovingly focused on food trends and traditions and the many ways that food figures in our lives beyond basic nutrition. Writers search beyond the hype of trends from $4 toast to bacon mania. Contributors explore how planting and palates are changing in response to economic and environmental issues, with trends from eating invasive species (lionfish, zebra mussels, feral hogs, and Asian carp) to consuming insects (exotic dishes of Bee-LT sandwiches and saut'ed wax worms). Writers scout out restaurants and eateries in trendy neighborhoods of metropolises and hidden-away gems in faraway places, tramping around the forest for watercress and hunting and cooking the day's meal. Contributors explore the difficulties of eating well under trying circumstances, following a family living on food stamps and visiting a prison to learn how inmates exert creativity in an institution devoid of culinary arts. This book is a menu of delicious food, colorful characters, and tales of strange and wonderful food adventures that make for memorable meals and stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)