Food & Wine Writing For the Passionate

Foodism
The notion of "creativity" is bound to winemaking. Winemakers and wine lovers alike tend to think of wine and its making as an art, of a sort. In the world of wine writing, creativity is not often the first motivation. More often, wine writing is about reporting or education. To approach wine and food writing as a creative act aimed to delivering inspiring or captivating prose and ideas is simply rare.

In fact, I don’t think a writer or publication could do justice to the creative impulse when contemplating wine and food unless the entire endevor was aimed first at opening a door to a unique perspective, rather than what is most common, writing to explain.

"FOODISM" is different.

Out of San Francisco comes a magazine (more of a journal, really) that takes food and wine and the culture that blooms from it as its inspiration. Yet, FOODISM is more about opening a window into a creative, political and contemplative world that only the culinary arts can inspire.

FOODISM does not aspire to be mainstream, properly it seems, since there is nothing about it that would garner any significant following. It is instead written for those who devour culinary and vinious information rather than skim it. It asks foodies and wine lovers, those who seek out fulfillment for their compulsion through words, to engage their minds in something a little different, but still up their alley.

FOODISM includes short articles on the link between food and politics. It generates reviews of wine. It delivers restaurant reviews…all the stuff of standard food and wine writing. But it is done from a very personal and highly judgemental perspectives. This kind of honest, iconoclastic writing is what makes FOODISM a great read. 

Of course what will immediately strike the new reader of FOODISM is its design. It is a busy combinationn of 60’s underground newspaper and victorian imagery. All of the advertisment are designed by the publisher to match the design of the book. This unique approach accomplishes its goal of integrating the advertisers’ messages into the message behinid FOODISM; Food and Wine writing can be personal and relevant.

I want to encourage anyone with a deep interest in wine and food to get their hands on FOODISM. I don’t know how well it is doing from a financial perspective. I suspect it is a shoestring operation. I do know it is the kind of publication aimed at anyone willing to enjoy a culinary tangent. It’s one of those publications that years from now will be studied by a graduate student at Berkeley doing thesis on the "early 21st century confluence of politics and food revealed through graphic desgin."

Yes, it’s rather esoteric. But that’s what you want isn’t it…if you really are someone with a passion?

Posted In: Wine Media

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2 Responses

  1. Lenn - August 1, 2005

    Tom…I’ve never even heard of FOODISM…but my interest is beyond piqued.
    Thanks, as always, for pointing out the interesting…

  2. Barbara - August 1, 2005

    Yes thansks Tom. This sounds like my kinda mag.


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