Tart - shownotes

Books, thoughts, links and recommendations that sprung from our most recent episode of the pod. Plus something to cook for a date.

We talk a bit in this episode of how our enjoyment of a meal is affected by our state of mind (linking back to our most recent episode on the book Happiness and Love).

Tart - Misadventures of an Anonumous Chef

Towards the end of the book, the author writes about going to a fancy restaurant with her boyfriend, or rather lover at the time, and she’s figuring out that he is actually, as one of her fellow chef friends warned her, an astronomical c-word.

The flavours excite my tongue but I can’t enjoy it knowing that I am a puppet in his master plan. Despite this being some of the best meals I have ever eaten, it is one of the most unenjoyable meals of my life.

And conversely, she is a big one for how good food can taste, even if it’s bad, when made for you by a lover. In a piece for Vogue (she writes a fortnightly column for their website);

the outcome was… diabolical. Stodgy clumps of rice swam across my plate, drowning in a sea of tepid and bland “green” curry. The coconut cream was not cooked out, the heat was non-existent, the Thai basil was still in the shop he hadn’t gone to, the chicken was tough and the presentation was grotesque. But my God, this meal was heavenly. This dish was more than a plate of food, it was a symbol of his commitment, his dedication, his love for me. I gobbled up every last chunk of grey chicken, and it’s still one of the best Thai curries I’ve ever had: my stomach satiated by love, not flavour.

We both loved the way she writes about her appetites and how they allow her to become more fully alive, thoughts we began to have back in our episode about Butter. She beautifully weaves together the ways our appetites for food and sex can feed off each other and how they both involve all the senses.

And we both hope you enjoyed this episode! We’ll be back soon for our Christmas one. Thanks, Germaine and Sophie x