If you missed this episode of Mouthful, the podcast is now available here and at itunes. To find it at itunes, simply enter “Mouthful” in the store’s search bar. You can download single episodes or subscribe for free and have them delivered to your podcast folder. It was a fascinating hour, thanks to my incredibly smart, articulate and amusing guests.
The Food Revolution: Off With His Toque, from Foodoodles From the Museum of Culinary History by L. John Harris
More importantly, Foodoodles From the Museum of Culinary History is now available at McCoy’s Cookware (2759 Fourth St., next door to Safeway, near Farmers Lane). It is a wonderful and unique gift, perfect if you need something at the last minute for a favorite food lover.
It’s highly unusual for me to write anything about my radio show Mouthful but tonight’s episode is so special and is, to me, so exciting, that I can’t resist.
My guests are L. John Harris and Victoria Wise. John will be discussing his delightful new book, Foodoodles From the Museum of Culinary History.
Victoria Wise will be talking about her newest book, Sausage: Recipes for Making and Cooking with Homemade Sausage.
But there’s so much more. John and Victoria were part of what came to be known as the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley. Although Alice Waters and Chez Panisse are credited with launching the so-called food revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s, there’s a lot more to the story. Chez Panisse did not spring out of whole cloth from Alice Waters’ forehead. Certainly, the restaurant and Alice’s passion have been hugely influential. But it was all churning before the media noticed and my guests were at the center of it all. Chez Panisse was their clubhouse.
John was at the center of another cultural shift, as well, the Garlic Revolution. Long before Chester Aaron began tending his beds of precious garlics from around the world, John not only had published The Book of Garlic. He had also helped launch the Gilroy Garlic Festival and founded a garlic fan club, Lovers of the Stinking Rose. Indeed, it was John who introduced Chester, his long-time friend and colleague and himself a life-long lover of the stinking rose, to the glorious possibilities of garlic as a literary subject. Although you can’t call their individual work on garlic a collaboration, I see an artistic resonance in their approaches that I hope to explore with both of them on Mouthful this spring.
John Harris, in his infamous garlic toque
There’s a personal reason I’m excited about tonight’s show, as well. John was my first book editor and publisher, publishing both A Cook’s Tour of Sonoma and The Good Cook’s Book of Oil and Vinegar. He was also my mentor in many subtle and crucial ways and it was all based on a chance meeting at the first olive oil tasting I attended. That meeting changed my life.
A couple of weeks ago, John and I went to lunch at the French Laundry, a first visit for us both. I’m sure our conversation will touch on that adventure, too.
Mouthful is broadcast live from 7 to 8 p.m. on KRCB FM. You’ll find it at either 91.1 fm or 90.9 fm (in certain parts of Santa Rosa). If you can’t get it this way, you can stream it live via krcb.org or via itunes. For me, itunes is the easiest. The path is itunes>radio>news/talk>krcb. Mouthful podcasts are available free on itunes; if you subscribe, each new episode will be delivered to your podcast folder without any effort on your part.
