In Praise of the Cook....

"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness."
— Elsa Schiaperelli

"What does cookery mean? It means the knowledge of Medea and of Circe, and of Calypso, and Sheba."
— John Ruskin

Today's issue of Salon features a lovely article by Chitrita Banerji on the importance of fish in Bengali cooking, culture, and legends. She writes: "In Bengali mythology -- and in my mother's kitchen -- fish has always been a delicious symbol of prosperity, fertility and pleasure."

If this whets your appetite for more about food (and myth), try these two gorgeous articles: "In Praise of the Cook" by Midori Snyder and "The Lore of Simple Things: Milk, Honey, and Bread in Myth and Legend" by Ari Berk. You'll also find a post here from last February on The Fantasy of Food.

"The very best of cooks are sorcerers, wizards, shamans and tricksters," writes Midori. "They must be, for they are capable of powerful acts of transformation. All manner of life, mammal, aquatic, vegetable, seeds and nuts pass through their hands and are transformed by spells — some secret, some written in books annotated with splashes of grease and broth. For years after my father's death, I was convinced I could take his stained, handwritten recipes, dip them in hot water, and there would be enough residue of the dish on those pages to create consommé.

"Master cooks are alchemists, turning the lead of a gnarled root vegetable into the whipped froth of a purée, hazelnuts into digestive liqueur, a secret combination of spices and chilies into a mole paste that burns and soothes at the same time. From a bin brimming with hundreds of choices they can sense the ripe cantaloupe, the juicy peach and the blueberries that have lingered long enough on the bush to become sweet. I am in awe of their skill, their secret knowledge, the inexplicable way I can follow my father's recipe and not have it taste anything like his, missing that one secret ingredient, those whispered spells that transformed his dish into something sublime..."

The art at the top of this post is by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse. The second piece is a woodcut of a medieval kitchen. The third is a photograph by Patrick Manning; and the fourth is a photograph by Toby Froud of a house goblin sculpted by Wendy Froud, stealing bread from Wendy's kitchen.
 

Comments

[Kim]

Oooooh. Yum. Thanks for these, Terri. I'm up in the middle of the night looking at this. Not long ago I was up in the middle of the night here reading another piece by Midori about food. It inspired a novel idea, which I'm now researching. (I'm going to work with a real chocolatier sometime in the next few weeks. She's agreed to help me with my research. Can't wait. Thanks, Midori. I've finally come up with a plausible excuse to eat chocolate. "I'm eating it for research." Uh-huh.) These links are great! I love coming here. I am always awed and inspired.

[Terri Windling]

You're welcome! And good luck.

(It's mid-morning here in England.)

[Tori]

My almost grown up son and daughter remember fondly our Summer trips to the library, where we found "Heckedy Peg", a tale about a witch who turns a large family of children into food. Their mother must rescue them by naming each dish for the correct child. Wonderful art and story by Audry Wood and Don Wood.
It is coming on to High Summer here in Middle Tennessee. Tomatoes, squash and watermelons are abundant. It is time for grilled salmon, with fresh rosemary and lemon, washed down with white wine and followed by raspberry sorbet! Is your mouth watering yet?! Thanks for this subject today!

[Andrea]

Speaking of the Frouds, just a reminder that Faerieworlds is fast approaching & people might want to start making wings! The site says something about tickets almost sold out, but I don't know if that's an advertising ploy or actuality.

[Beth Hansen-Buth]

There's nothing like some tea and sandwiches with a good book, and it's very fun to find it within too.