The Alternative Press

I’ve struggled with my weight nearly all my life. Naturally now I’m a food writer.

The most interesting part of the whole thing is that food writing found me. I have been a journalist for my entire career, but a year ago I impulsively responded to a press release I’d gotten about TV Chef Chuck Hughes and his Christmas special. I asked if I could interview him. The Cooking Channel people said yes and set it up.

The interview went incredibly well and I got great feedback on the resulting article, but I still thought it was going to be a one-off.

The Cooking Channel people had other ideas. They kept setting me up with more food TV profiles, and I kept doing them. And people kept reading them.  And still I resisted the whole idea that I was becoming a food writer. For crying out loud, I’d spent most of my adult life thinking of food as the enemy.  How was I supposed to be a food writer?

Then last winter I got an invitation to be one of a small group of food writers to attend a luncheon at the Food Network kitchens. I found myself as one of six who watched Melissa D’Arabian give a cooking demonstration, then we all had lunch. As I talked with Melissa afterward, Ted Allen buzzed in to give her a hug, said hi to me, then said, “I gotta go, we’re filming ‘Chopped,’” before rushing out again.

That’s when I realized I had to face the facts.

I’m a food writer.

As I got more and more into the food scene, I found myself starting to experiment in my own kitchen, from simple things like layering streusel in coffee cake to complicated recipes with ingredients I had to look up how to pronounce. I swapped recipes with friends, I made notes of techniques I saw chefs use on TV, I bought a steamer and good knives and vanilla beans and put herbs in pots in my porch. If I was going to hang out with chefs and write about their world, I figured I’d better know at least some of what they’re talking about.

And I am beginning to make friends with food. I no longer consider it the enemy, although I still cast sideways glances at it, wondering when it’s going to attach itself to my thighs with a death grip no amount of jogging can shake loose.

So here I am. I’m a food writer, a reluctant foodie who has had to learn that food isn’t something to be afraid of, that it’s a crime to hide in my living room and eat an entire bag of potato chips with a side of guilt when I could be out sharing a great meal with friends or trying a new recipe in my kitchen. Food sustains us, food keeps us alive and brings us together. In a world where people stand in line for bread, can I afford to treat food with anything less than respect and gratitude?

I admit, I watch my favorite cooking shows while on my treadmill, and I still look for ways to make recipes a little healthier. But every day I’m learning to make peace with food, and with myself. That’s what “A Spot of Ty” is all about – my adventures in food writing, cooking, eating, and finding balance. So let’s dig in.