Hello my lovely readers!
These essays highlight many key techniques that a young food writer like yourself and myself can work on “as an apprentice.” The main component to a food essay that I particularly like and enjoy is when a writer is able to put us in their own shoes, inviting us to open our sense of taste, smell, touch, and sight without using such “big” and unnecessary words. I also like it when a writer is able to give a personal connection to their food story and manages to make us relate to their story as well. This was clearly evident in the essays that I read.
What pulled me in particular to the “Food” essay by Tony Judt is the way he describes some of his meals like how the “Meat fell off the fork, having long since fallen off the bone. It too was brown and soft.” I am able to visualize this through his point of view, and his simple choice of words to describe how well the meat was cooked drew me into his essay even more as I wanted to continue “trying” what he ate. The way that Tony Judt described his meals through his own voice and honest opinions made it more real and compelling. When Tony Judt ends his essay with “We are what we ate. And I am very English.” it gave a very relatable and personal take on his own little food journey as he grew up and the different cultures that he had encountered that left an impression on him.
From the entries from Paper and Salt by Nicole Villanueve, the writer almost did her own take on a “Julie & Julia” style blog but adding her own twist to it. The way she gave simple background information on Henry James, Raymond Chandler, and Ernest Hemingway and connecting that to the dish she would be talking about was so seamlessly meshed together and flowed very well. She used just the right amount of quotes from each author to enhance her essays, and ending each one with a detailed recipe definitely made it a great food essay.
When writing an effective and enticing piece, it is important to incorporate as many of the elements I have talked about above as possible. In my blog, I talk a lot about being healthier, and going organic. To try and persuade my readers to follow along my footsteps is not an easy thing to do, but with the correct skills in writing anything is possible, and I hope that through my work, you can see my improvement as a good food writer.
Health & Happiness 
Putting the reader in the author’s shoes is a great way to draw in the reader and keep the reader interested. When you can actualize visualize the food and whatever else the reader is talking about, the writing automatically becomes more interesting because it makes you want to try the whole thing. Just talking about food is one thing, but actually imaging the tastes, the emotions, and feelings of the food makes a big difference in the writing.
I have never heard of Assam Laksa, but I would love to learn more about it and maybe eventually try it!
I agree with you, I enjoy an essay with simple meaningful words, and its great when the author can put us in their on shoe. It was interesting how Nicole Villanueve gave us background information on Henry James, Raymond Chandler, and Ernest Hemingway and how this really did make it more interesting when they were all related to a specific food item. Seeing the way you have written so far I am sure you will heighten all my senses and get my stomach growling when you describe the recipe for Assam Laksa. The pressure is on!