Steven Raichlen is the author of the new memoir Man on Fire: Of Life, Love, Literature, and Really Good Barbecue. His many other books include Man Made Meals. He is also a lecturer, journalist, and TV host, and he lives in Miami and Martha's Vineyard.
Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir?
A: Let me count the ways! Most people think of me as a cookbook author, but I’ve also written fiction (The Hermit of Chappaquiddick) and restaurant and travel guides. I wanted people to know me for more than barbecue.
My life has followed a highly improbable trajectory: from medievalist with a degree in French literature to an Iron Chef battle in Tokyo (I won!) to induction into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.
I’m a guy who didn’t own a television until age 37 (I finally acquired one by marriage), yet I’ve done 20 years of television in three languages.
I figured I would lead a quiet scholarly life as a comparative literature professor, yet I’ve circumnavigated the globe a half dozen times to research and promote live fire cooking.
Oh, and I’ve never had a boss or a “real” job or reported to an office.
In short, I wrote Man On Fire to make sense of the odd arc of my professional life and my unlikely path to barbecue enlightenment.
All that, and I wanted my grandkids to know what PopPop really did for a living!
Q: Chef and author Aaron Franklin said of the book, “Man on Fire is a deeply personal look at how the magic of food and cooking can nurture our souls, shape our lives, and feed a lifetime of exploration.” What do you think of that assessment?
A: Aaron hit the nail on the head. The book is intensely personal, and I tried to chronicle the emotions and motivations behind each book and professional success.
How my mother’s suicide and the feeling I didn’t do enough to prevent it led me to write more than 30 books—some of them 600-page monsters.
How cooking connected a lonely kid (me) to his father during monthly Men’s Nights in the kitchen when I was growing up, and how that in turn inspired my book Man Made Meals, dedicated to my longtime publisher and friend Peter Workman.
I’ve been obsessed with food for as long as I can remember—probably in part because I grew up in a spectacularly non-foodie household. (My ballet dancer mother was obsessed with holding down her weight.) I’m probably the only food writer who was raised on TV dinners! Happy, my grandparents and great aunts were excellent cooks.
Like many men, I’m guarded with my feelings, and early on I came to see cooking as a way to express my emotions.
Food has certainly shaped my life, from my early days as restaurant critic (for Boston Magazine) and wine and spirits columnist (for GQ) to a longtime contributor to The New York Times, cooking teacher and founder of Barbecue University, and the author of a sizable library of barbecue books.
Then as now, there’s nothing I enjoy more than cooking (or more accurately grilling) a great meal to serve to people I care about.
As for the lifetime of exploration, my curiosity about food in general and live fire cooking in particular has taken me to 75 countries on six continents. I love how traveling to do barbecue research has dropped me deep into a culture, transforming me from a tourist to an insider.
To this day, I spend two to three months on the road, and my focus has always been on the food.
Q: How did you choose the recipes to include in the book?
A: That was the easy part. Each recipe represents a particular phase of my life—from the Real Deal Crab Cakes I grew up on in Baltimore to the Hippocras (medieval spiced wine) I learned about as a French lit major and medievalist in college; from the petits pots de crème (insanely rich custards) I mastered during my cooking school days in Paris to the grilled egg breakfast I developed for my Steven Raichlen Grills Italy show for Italian television.
Readers will expect barbecue recipes, and I oblige them with the likes of Thai Flavored Grilled Game Hens and the Baby Back Ribs That Beat the Iron Chef in Tokyo. But they’ll also find recipes for my Starving Student Spaghetti (a mainstay in collage) and Morning-After Hash—the ultimate post-seduction breakfast.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Book writing has been my passion since college, but I especially enjoyed writing this one. It brought back a rush of memories—of the people I’ve met on my life’s journey, the places I’ve lived, the experiences I’ve had (both good and bad—mostly good), and of course all the great food I’ve gotten to eat in my travels.
The early chapters helped me come to terms with a difficult childhood. The book allowed me to honor the many family members, friends, and colleagues who have shaped and helped me along the way.
I hope that readers will learn some really cool stuff—like the origin of the words “book” and “recipe”; how to write a cookbook; what really goes into making a TV show; and how to say “barbecue” (and what to order) wherever they travel around the globe.
I hope that readers will learn some of the business and life lessons that have helped build my career, starting with Julia Child’s advice on book writing: Pick a subject of broad (make that universal) appeal, but take an approach that you and only you can do.
In my case, the subject was barbecue—everyone everywhere loves barbecue—while my approach was global grilling. I doubt there was anyone crazy enough to visit 75 countries to explore what’s on the grill.
Among the other lessons I learned are: Start any endeavor with the end in mind. Under promise and over deliver. Get there early and stay until the rest of your team is done.
Above all, I hope that readers will get to know the real Steven Raichlen—the man behind the smoke and fire.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: An incorrigible multi-tasker, I’m working on several projects at once. In April, I have a new cookbook coming out—Barbecue University—based on my cooking school at the Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. I’ve started on a new novel—a foodie mystery set in Amsterdam called In Rembrandt’s Kitchen.
On the metaphorical back burner, I have a History of Barbecue documentary and a YA novel in the works. Then there’s my sailboat, a 38-foot Jeanneau Sun Odyssey that awaits her captain in Miami.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Well, first, the book is available at bookstores everywhere, including your local independent and online booksellers, like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It’s always a blessing to buy a book—especially when you know or follow the author.
My website is barbecuebible.com. When you visit, sign up for my free biweekly newsletter, Up In Smoke. My social media platforms are @stevenraichlen and I try to post daily about my adventures in the world of live fire cooking.
Finally, if you enjoy this book, please tell your friends and review it on Amazon. Thanks!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment