Learning about food from reading books – Happy Gourmand

Photo: Contributed

A scene in the Hogwarts dining room, from the Harry Potter film series.

I often wrote about how my childhood involved many wonderful experiences in the kitchen and with food.

I chalked it up to my nature as a foodie, but while listening to a BBC podcast this week, it occurred to me that there might be another sphere of influence.

As a child, I read a lot of short stories and became an avid reader at an early age. Many of the books I read as a child included scenes of characters eating, and food was so often described in such magical and enticing ways that I was delighted. Stories by authors such as CS Lewis and Roald Dahl took me to places where food was a ticket to entry.

Do you remember what it was like to think about drinking the potion like Alice did to be able to enter Wonderland? I used to imagine that my glass of milk with dinner was a potion like Alice’s Potion, so I could shrink myself and avoid the mean girls at school. Instead, I could live like Borrowers, interacting only with people interested in sharing and learning. In the same way, I rooted for Charlie on his tour of the chocolate factory when the mean kids got their just desserts.

Thanks Sam-I-Am and Dr. Seuss learned about the adventure of new foods early on in a positive way. I have never tried green eggs and ham, but I have tried many other exotic dishes along the same lines.

As I grew up and read books like Oliver Twist and Gulliver’s Travels, I also learned that not everyone had a wonderful and abundant experience. The impact of eating the Cratchits from A Christmas Carol was much greater on my psyche than those three ghosts.

Of course, all these examples come from many years ago, they are rather old-school literary classics. I know kids today are often more interested in movies than books, but there seem to be new examples that continue this trend.

A child’s sense of wonder can capture even an old soul, and today’s children can practice the age-old skill of imagining things from thin air. What better place to start than with food? My stepdaughter and I have been on this adventure with a series of books that we both loved when they were first released.

The world of Harry Potter has embraced the quintessential combination of magic and deliciousness – who hasn’t loved the idea of ​​adaptive food like pumpkin pies that can be savory or sweet, or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. With so many intriguing dishes, every day seems like the holiday season.

I was happy to learn that now-famous foodie Phil Rosenthal (host of the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil) wrote a book with his daughter about how picky eaters can learn to enjoy new foods. It’s called “Just Try” and I think it’s great advice.

I am delighted that my granddaughter loves books. She doesn’t read much yet, but she’s on the road and she’s also interested in food. I know she’s read The Hungry Caterpillar and books about planting seeds that turn into food. I’m buying a new book for her for Christmas and plan to share my classics with her as she grows up.

If you want to hear the podcast I mentionedcontains a number of recommendations for people of all ages. And if you’re a big kid looking for a fun book about food, one of my favorites is “You Can’t See Paris from Here,” about a food writer who moves his family to a small town in France and learns lots of unexpected things about food and culture.

Here’s some fun with food.

This article was written by or on behalf of an external columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.