Food Gives us Meaningful Connections

The Seattle Times - AFTER 20 YEARS of writing for Taste, I’ve decided to pursue other interests. This will be my last column for Pacific NW magazine. As a freelancer, I had the opportunity to write about whatever struck my fancy (within reason), as long as my editor approved. Over the years, my interests changed: from kitchen gadgets and grills in the early days, to negronis and tinctures in a craft-cocktail phase. Recently, my work shifted toward farming and sustainability.

As I think about the various topics I’ve addressed, I wonder whether a focus or theme threaded together the work. We focus on Northwest ingredients, chefs, growers and producers, so geography is an obvious theme. So much cool work is happening right in our backyard: a renaissance of local grains and distilleries, creative cooking, innovative shellfish restoration, sustainable farming, seed saving, plant breeding, research on climate change. I have loved learning about these subjects and the people behind them.

When it comes right down to it, people are the stories. I’m grateful that this job allowed me to meet amazing chefs, farmers, restaurateurs, mixologists, bakers and more who generously have shared their time, passions and recipes.

It’s one thing to eat a loaf of bread, but you will remember it far more if the baker shows you how to make it. When you see and smell and maybe even knead the yeasty dough. When, over the heat from the oven, you hear the baker’s knowledge and love of that particular bread. It’s much more than a loaf of bread; it is a human connection. It is a story.