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Food journalism panel featuring alumni

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Food Journalism: Well Fed and Well Said

It was the type of Journalism School event at which you didn’t want to be caught mispronouncing the word "Michelin." The guide, and not the tire, that is.

The "Well Fed and Well Said" panel discussion last night brought together Frank Bruni '88, The New York Times food critic from 2004 to 2009; Kelly Choi '99, the host of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Masters;” and Keith Goggin '91, a partner in restaurants including the molecular gastronomy-focused Alinea in Chicago. Dean Nicholas Lemann served as the moderator.

With the field of journalism in a state of transition, the panelists made sure to address the role the Internet has played in the world of food journalism.

“Online journalism for food is definitely a positive development from the 'more is always better' point of view,” said Bruni, who recently saw the publication of his third book, "Born Round: the Secret History of a Full-Time Eater."

"But I get concerned when people equate user-generated content with more traditional journalism," he continued. "When you read online Web sites, you have no idea whose reviews you could be reading. It could be a relative of the restaurant owner.”

The audience appreciated the qualified embrace of citizen criticism.

"The idea that there is a place for everything was very interesting to me," said magazine concentrator Leslie Minorah '10. "And I think it’s true. When I go out to eat with my friends, we have opinions on what we eat. And we should be able to write about it too."

The publication of Bruni’s latest book coincided with the end of his five-year run as the chief restaurant critic for the Times. Previously, Bruni was the Times reporter for the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, who Bruni described as a "peanut butter and jelly, cheetos-eating kind of a guy."

Looking back at his time as a critic, Bruni said that he was always amazed at how obsequious restaurant staffers could be if they knew he was writing a review. He recalled one such incident that occurred at Nobu 57 in Manhattan.

After he accidentally busted open a soap dispenser all over his shirt, Bruni was met with offers from both his waitress and the restaurant management to pay for both the wine he ordered and for his next dry cleaning bill, even though Bruni fully confessed that it was he, and not the soap dispenser, that had "malfunctioned."

The panelists also aimed to put their finger on the current zeitgeist in the world of food. They agreed that if Americans were in the thrall of Julia Child and homemade soufflés in the 1960’s, then we are now all living in the age of Michael Pollan. Pollan has sought to raise the profile of the ethical analysis of the American food sector through books like "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto."

"If you look at the history food, it was for a very long time about survival," said Goggin. "In agrarian societies, everything was about just making sure there was any food at all to eat. In industrial societies, people began to do more than just working all day to prepare meals. Now, living in a wealthy society, you see an explosion of social eating. When I go out with my friends, we’re able to talk about what it all means."

Bruni, for his part, was quick to emphasize that many Americans still don’t have the luxury of "politicizing food" and taking into account their food’s origin and composition. As for the next wave, Bruni predicted the rise of consciousness over the rights of people who work in food-processing, who he says, "are among the most ill-paid and exploited workers in the world."

Speaking in a city considered to be a capital of international cuisine, the foodies also identified the latest vanguard in dining.

"Right now it’s all about Asian cuisines," said Choi '99, who once worked as a VJ for MTV Korea. "Everyone is talking about dishes like pork buns and kimchi. For me this is funny, because that’s what I ate when I was a kid with my family. When I was young, I thought pop tarts were really cool."

--Dan Fastenberg '10