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Writing About Food A Guide to Good Food Journalism Pauliina Siniauer European Journalism–Fellowships 2014 – 2015 Freie Universität Berlin Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Table of Contents FOREWORDS ..................................................................................................................................... 3 1. INTRODUCTION TO FOOD JOURNALISM ......................................................................... 5 1.1. WHAT IS FOOD JOURNALISM – THE VARIETY OF FOOD WRITING .................................................. 5 1.2. HOW TO BECOME A FOOD JOURNALIST ............................................................................................. 8 1.3. THE SKILLS OF A GOOD FOOD WRITER ............................................................................................ 10 1.4. STORYTELLING AND CREATING YOUR OWN VOICE ....................................................................... 14 2. FOOD TRENDS, CULTURE AND PEOPLE ....................................................................... 18 2.1. FOOD TRENDS – HOW THEY ARE MADE OF AND HOW TO FOLLOW THEM ................................ 18 2.2. ABOUT FOOD CULTURE AND PEOPLE BEHIND THE FOOD ............................................................ 21 3. INVESTIGATIVE FOOD JOURNALISM .............................................................................. 24 3.1. FOOD INDUSTRIALISM ....................................................................................................................... 24 3.2. SCAMS AND SCANDALS ...................................................................................................................... 27 3.3. CONTROVERSIAL HEALTH STUDIES ................................................................................................. 30 4. RESTAURANT CRITICS ........................................................................................................ 33 4.1. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A RESTAURANT CRITIC? ........................................................ 33 4.2. A GUIDE TO MAKE A GOOD REVIEW ................................................................................................. 36 4.2.1. Where to go, with whom and how – do I need a disguise? ........................................... 37 4.2.2. What to eat and how to write about the whole experience ......................................... 39 4.3. THE POWER OF A CRITIC – CONSEQUENCES OF A REVIEW .......................................................... 43 5. RECIPES ................................................................................................................................... 46 5.1. HOW TO WRITE A RECIPE ................................................................................................................. 46 5.2. FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 52 6. APPEARANCE ......................................................................................................................... 54 6.1. FOOD JOURNALISM IN NEWSPAPERS ............................................................................................... 56 6.2. FOOD JOURNALISM IN MAGAZINES .................................................................................................. 60 6.3. COMMERCIAL CO-OPERATIONS ........................................................................................................ 63 7. GOING ONLINE ....................................................................................................................... 66 7.1. THE ONLINE CONTENT OF NEWSPAPERS FOOD SECTIONS AND FOOD MAGAZINES ................ 66 7.2. SOCIAL MEDIA ..................................................................................................................................... 69 7.3. FOOD BLOGS ........................................................................................................................................ 72 8. THE FUTURE OF FOOD JOURNALISM ............................................................................. 75 8.1. VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE ................................................................................................................. 75 8.1.1. Food trends ....................................................................................................................................... 75 8.1.2. Investigative food journalism ................................................................................................... 76 8.1.3. Restaurant reviews ........................................................................................................................ 77 8.1.4. Recipes ................................................................................................................................................ 78 8.1.5. Appearance and online ................................................................................................................ 79 8.2. CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 80 9. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 82 Forewords Greetings from the most popular döner kebab line of Berlin. It’s a chilly afternoon in October and I’m standing in a line in Kreuzberg. Leaves have fallen from the trees and crispy autumn weather makes me wrap my scarf tighter. Luckily the sun is shining and I know that soon I will get something warming. The line is getting longer behind me and I’m smiling. It’s actually quite funny that one of the most queued sights in Berlin is a tiny kebab stand. On the other hand, why not: beating hunger is one of the most satisfying things in life. Though food is about much more than just taming one’s appetite. For many of us, dining is more than a necessary procedure. Food is one of the easiest ways to express your opinion and show your values. One the one hand, you can make a statement by choosing organic, vegetarian, local or Fair Trade food. You may also boycott food from certain countries or boycott certain brands. One the other hand, you might choose to buy the cheapest food available and in that manner show that you are not interested in what you eat. Food is a status symbol. In which restaurants you go to eat or where you buy your groceries, quickly gives an image about your standard of living. Food may also be a hobby. Writing or following food blogs, having fine dining at home, testing new restaurants, taking part in food happenings, sharing your own reviews or pictures of plates in social media, taking cooking classes, getting to know wines, food travelling – there are so many ways to carry it out. Food is entertainment. The amount of cooking shows and food related TV- shows have exploded during the last decade. Food is to a larger extent than earlier an everyday topic in newspapers and magazines, and being a celebrity cook become a normal title. Food is business. Multinational food corporations, food industrialism, health products, losing weight, restaurant business, bonus card systems, agriculture and food development are huge economical factors. And for most of us, food is a compilation to all of these things and it’s combined in one simple question: “What should I eat today?” As food is one of the main elements that the whole world is dependent on, I was actually quite surprised as I realized that there is not much literature about food journalism. Neither there are that many places in the world where you can attend to a food journalism course. Naturally there is plenty of food writing, but it’s not seen as an independent field of journalism. So how, then, do you make good food journalism, and what is the role of food journalism? This is what I was thinking when it was my turn to get to the counter. “One vegetarian kebab, please”, I say with a bit of excitement and the man in Mustafas Gemüse Kebap stand nods towards me and starts to fill the soft bread. He spreads the spicy sauce to the sides, the herbal sauce to the middle and the garlic-yoghurt sauce at the bottom. His hands are quick, the tong moves fast as he grabs the green salad, the cabbage salad, the tomato pieces, the cucumber slices, the onion rings. The bread starts to fill. Next he takes a bowl of grilled, seasoned vegetables and adds a pile of them inside the bread with feta cheese crumble. He finishes the creation with a generous squeeze of lemon, fresh and chopped mint and parsley. I give him 2,80 euros and the most popular kebab in Berlin is finally in my hands. I hold my breath as I take a bite. And I take another, and another. It is really good. It ‘s not an unforgettable culinary explosion in my mouth but it’s a damn good döner. All the tastes complete each other, the ingredients are fresh and the amount of sauces is perfect. I’m smiling again, it was worth waiting. I would never have ended up in this kebab stand if there hadn’t been so much fuss about it in the media. I’ve read reviews and articles about Mustafa. He is the reason why the selection of vegetarian döners has risen in this city. Everybody wants to get the same attention that he has, and to get the same line in front of the counter. But it wouldn’t happen without the media and I wouldn’t be standing happily next to Mustafa’s and thinking about the wideness of food journalism. And this is the main goal of my study: to show
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