The Literary Gourmet

Our attitudes, practices, and rituals surrounding food are a window into our most basic beliefs about our world and ourselves. What can we learn about ourselves when we take the time to reflect on some of the memories we have surrounding food? What can we learn about others when we examine a wide variety of multicultural culinary experiences? This course is designed to help students grow as readers, writers and thinkers through texts and assignments that are all food related. Several times a week, we will have the opportunity to taste and/or prepare food.

Course Questions:

*How does literature improve our ability to understand our self and the world in which we live?

*How can utilizing various reading strategies help us to better understand the text?

*How does a writer effectively conduct and organize his/her research?

Assignments:

By the end of this course, students will have read a minimum of two novels and twenty five short stories/ excerpts. They will compose a culinary memoir, two research based papers, multiple written responses to the readings, a restaurant review, and a book review/ presentation. They will also form personal culinary blogs where they will post their reflections on various recipes and assignments.

Materials:

Please bring the following materials to class each day:

*Class Folder or Binder

*Journal (Used only for this class)

*Writing Utensils

*Reading Materials

Course Units:

First Quarter:

Unit One: Food Safety (One Week/ Ongoing)

The bulk of this unit lasts one week, but training in food safety is ongoing. Mr. Bannon will give us a tour of the kitchen covering the following:

*Preventing cross-contamination

*Knife safety

*Dishwashing procedures

*Hand washing procedures

*Appropriate clothing, hair and shoes

*Overview of the use of appliances and equipment

*Sanitation of work areas

Unit Two: Exploring Family, Food & Culture (5 Weeks)

Students will participate in both small and large group discussions based on the following readings. The unit will culminate with the students writing their own culinary memoir and preparing a recipe to share.

Students will read excerpts from:

The Best Food Writing of 2008 by Holly Hughes

“Mangoes, Memories and Motorcycles” by Sonya Pai

Recipe: Mango Lassis

“Roadtrip to Chinatown: Tasting your History One Bite at a Time” by Eve M. Tai

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Recipe: Artpark Brownies

Hallelujah: The Welcome Table by Maya Angelou

Recipes: Banana Pudding and Caramel Cake

Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table: A Collection of Essays from the New York Times

by Amanda Hesser

Story: “Orange Crush” Yiyun Li

Tasting: Tang

Unit Three: “The Best Recipe” – Research Paper and Presentation #1 (3 Weeks)

Students will read samples of culinary research, design their own methods of conducting a tasting, and develop a research paper based on their recipe testing and tasting data.

“The Scoop on Vanilla Ice Cream” by Jolyon Helterman – Cooks Illustrated

“The Best Classic Brownies” by Erika Bruce – Cooks Illustrated

Unit Four: Culinary Book Review and Presentation (3 Weeks)

Students will select from the following titles. They will utilize active reading strategies and participate in small and large group discussions. The unit will culminate with a project/ presentation.

Cooked: My Journey from the Streets to the Stove by Jeff Henderson

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea by Alice Waters

Heat by Bill Buford

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Second Quarter:

Unit Five: Restaurant Reviews (3 Weeks)

All students will read Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl. Students will participate in small and large group discussions. The unit will culminate with students taking a field trip to a restaurant and writing a review.

We will also read excerpts related to the writing of a review from:

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More by Dianne Jacob

Make Money as a Food Writer in Six Lessons by Pamela White

The Recipe Writer’s Handbook by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane Baker

Unit Six: Culinary Debates/ Issues (3 Weeks)

Students will participate in both small and large group discussions and debates based on the following readings.

Excerpts from:

The Best Food Writing of 2008 by Holly Hughes:

“Tenderloin’s a Steal, but at What Moral Price? By John Kessler

“Guess Who’s Making Your Dinner” by Rob Walsh

“In Defense of Food” (excerpt) by Michael Pollan

“Why Vegetarians are Eating Meat” by Christine Lennon

“The Real Cost of Cheap Food” by Bryan Walsh for TIME (8/31/09)

Excerpts from:

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea by Alice Waters

Unit Seven: “The Best Recipe” – Paper and Presentation #2 (4 Weeks)

Students will read samples of culinary research, design their own methods of conducting a tasting, and develop a research paper based on their recipe testing and tasting data. Their final exam will require that students perform their own research and recipe testing and present their findings to the class.

“The Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie” by Erika Bruce Cooks Illustrated

“Better Blueberry Pancakes” by Bridget Lancaster Cooks Illustrated

Students to research the best:

*Chocolate Chip Cookie

*Macaroni and Cheese

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Welcome to our class blog!

September 16, 2009 by theliterarygourmet

Yesterday, we rated six store bought vanilla ice creams. We developed our own rating scale as a class based on the format used by Cook’s Illustrated. We looked at the products ingredients, we took notes on flavor and texture, we looked at whether or not the product contained egg, we noted the intensity of the vanilla flavor, and ultimately we gave the product a rating on a scale from one to ten. Please post a comment in which you describe your impressions of each of the ice creams. Which was your favorite? Least favorite? Did you and/or your classmates come to any conclusions?

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“Food is our common ground- our universal experience.” – James Beard