The nature and food writer Michael Pollan stopped by Penguin Towers this lunchtime to tell us all about his new book “Cooked”, which was published last week. In a packed tenth-floor meeting room against a gloomy London skyline and slate-like 45-degree rain, he spoke to us about his background in journalism and eventual metamorphism into a writer. Initially working as an editor for Harpers with writers such as Tom Wolfe and Margaret Atwood, the job gave him the insight to see that not all great works arrived fully formed and the confidence to pursue his own writing projects. About the same time that he bargained with his boss for a published feature of his own in the magazine in lieu of a pay rise, he also started dabbling in gardening at his second home outside New York, and it was here that his attraction to nature and biology germinated.
I’m looking forward to getting stuck into my proof copy of Cooked soon; Pollan told us that the book is a vital link in his series of works that explore our food chain, and spoke eloquently about cutting onions in a zen-like state, the false economy of time-saving ready meals and how young American’s have caught the pickling bug. I totally agreed with his’s astute observation that profound conversations take place when people are cooking and not making eye contact, and also his discussions about the fetishization of food. He mentioned his surprise at spotting ready-cubed chicken breasts in Tesco that morning – apparently this “time saving” phenomenon hasn’t reached the US yet.
You can read more about this most important of subjects here: http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781846148033,00.html
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