FOOD WRITING
English 208, Section 001
Randall Kenan*FALL 2015
Meeting Time/ Place:
11-12:15, Graham Memorial Hall 038
Office: Greenlaw 313
Office hours: Tues/Thurs 1-3pm & TBA
Phone#: Office: 962.4014
Cell#: 923.3675
Email: rkenan@email.unc.edu
Course Description: This is a course about writing and the world of food – growing, cooking, policy,
industry and eating. But primarily this is a course about good prose and the various forms of writing. We
will explore different forms writing about the food world: the personal essay, reportage, oral history
memoir, the review, etc. We will have guest visitors and take a few field trips.
The primary text will be American Food Writing: An Anthology by Molly O’Neil. A great deal of other
reading will be required and will be provided by the instructor.
Course Requirements:
Expectations:
Student’s presence will be requested each class meeting. Robust class participation is
considered a must. Significant and unexcused absences (more than two over the course
of the semester) will decidedly effect a student’s grade adversely. Assignments should be
turned in at appointed class meetings in the proper format. Submitting stories via email
is only acceptable with prior permission of the instructor, or when requested.
Reading Requirements:

Reading assignments (from book and hand-outs and class website) will be given for most
class meetings. Students will be expected to have read the assignment and to be ready to
discuss at class time.
Writing Requirement:

Writing assignments: There will be approximately 8 writing assignments, to explore the
various forms of food writing. Six of these assignments should be between 500-750
words (personal essays, review, etc.). One will be approximately 1000 words (Position
Paper). And your final profile should be no shorter than 2500 words (ten pages).
Profiles will be workshopped by class. See details below.
General Information:

ALL assignments are to be typed, double-spaced, paginated, with the author’s name and
address in the upper right-hand of the 1st page, with the title appearing, centered, midpage, and the text beginning several spaces below. Each subsequent page should have in
some fashion at the top of each page the following information: Author’s last name, part
of title and page number. Assignments should be paper clipped, not clipped. (See
attached sample)
3

There will be no final examination. Revised profiles will be collected in lieu of exams. These
revisions will be due on December 9th (second reading day) by end of day.

Workshop process: You will be given a schedule listing two students per class with a due
date and a discussion date. On the due date stories should be posted on class website and a
hardcopy given to instructor. On the discussion date the entire class should be prepared to
discuss the two stories in question, and written critiques should be posted to class website by
beginning of the day.
Grade Basis:
Individual writing exercises will not be graded, but will be given specific feedback, oral and
written. Students will be judged on demonstration of knowledge, technique and improvement. A
one-on-one semester review with instructor will be conducted with each student during the week
of November 2nd.
n.b.: Instructor reserves the discretionary right to give occasional pop quizzes on
the readings if he feels necessary, based on class participation and level of
discussion. These tests will be applied to participation grade.



Class attendance/Participation (20%) [Participation includes written responses to
profiles]
Brief essays, 500-750 words (30%)
Profile/Revision of Profile, 2500 words (50%) * [Revision will be weighted]
Required Text:
The primary text will be American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes by Molly
O’Neil (Library of America). A great deal of other reading will be required and will be provided by
the instructor either in the form of handouts or as pdfs via the class website on UNC Digital
Commons (UNCDG). (Which see below.) All works cited below are from O’Neil unless
otherwise indicated.
https://foodwritingenglish208fall2015.web.unc.edu/
Class Schedule:
Date
Assignment (due on date shown)
8/18
FIRST DAY OF CLASS
8/20
READING DAY ** NO CLASS
Reading:
H.L. Mencken, p 171
Ralph Ellison, p 292
Alice B. Toklas, p 298
8/25
“The Best (or Worst) Meal I Ever Had” (500-750 words)
Reading:
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, p 24
4
Excerpts from The Physiology of Taste (UNCDG)
M.F.K. Fisher, p 220, p 234
Two essays from Fisher’s As They Were (UNCDG)
8/27
Reading:
John McPhee, p 389
William Styron, p 330
Frederic Kaufman, “Debbie Does Salad,” Harpers Magazine, (UNCDG)
9/1
Essay on one food item (500-750 words)
Reading:
John Thorne, p 610
9/3
Reading:
Roy Andries de Groot, p 430
Betty Fussell, p 642
Henry Petroski, from The Evolution of Useful Things, (UNCDG)
9/8
Essay on a utensil (500-750 words)
9/10
Reading:
Joseph Mitchell, “Mr. Barbee's Terrapin,” P 205
Nelson Algren, from America Eats, p 215
A. J. Liebling, from The Modest Threshold, p 337
Jhumpa Lahiri, “Indian Takeout,” p 673
9/15
Ethic Food
Reading:
Jennifer 8. Lee, from The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, (UNCDG)
Johnny Apple, from Far Flung and Well Fed (part 1), (UNCDG)
9/17
Ethnic Food paper (500-750 words)
American Regional Food
Reading:
Edna Lewis, p 479
Raymond Sokolov, p 487
Ana Menendez, p 706
Mark Kurlansky, from The Food of a Younger Land, (UNCDG)
9/22
Restaurants and Reviews
Reading:
Craig Claiborne, p 465
Russell Baker, p 472
Five Reviews by Jonathan Gold (the only individual to win the Pulitzer Prize for food writing),
(UNCDG)
“The Scavenger,” Dana Goodyear (New Yorker profile of Jonathan Gold)
Anthony Bourdain, p 662
5
9/24
GUEST SPEAKER: Marcie Cohen Ferris, Food Historian, discussing 19th C Southern
Cookbooks
(Prof. Ferris teaches at UNC-CH in the American Studies program. She is the author of
Matzah Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South [2005] and The Edible South:
The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region [2014].)
Reading:
Calvin Trillin, “The Traveling Man’s Burden”, p456
Jeffrey Steingarten, “Primal Bread,” p 576
Bill Smith, from Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook's Corner and from Home (UNCDG)
Bill Neal, from Bill Neal's Southern Cooking and Remembering Bill Neal by Moreton Neal
(UNCDG)
9/29
** FIELD TRIP **Chapel Hill restaurant
10/1
** NO CLASS **
10/6
Restaurant Review due (500-750 words)
*For review be sure to cover: Décor/ambiance; service; courses – food description;
relevant cultural information; pertinent reference information – location, prices, times of
service, etc.
Reading:
Ray Kroc, from Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonalds, p 475
Eric Schlosser, from Fast Food Nation, p 683
Michael Pollan, “My Organic Industrial Meal,” p717
Michael Pollan, “Farmer in Chief,” New York Times (UNCDG)
Michael Pollan, “Out of the Kitchen,” New York Times (UNCDG)
Alice Waters, “The Farm-Restaurant Connection,” p 559
10/8 ** FIELD TRIP **Fickle Creek Farm, Efland, NC – trip will last roughly 2 hours. Vans
Leaving from campus at designated location at 11:30 and returning to campus after farm tour.

10/13
Brief account of your response to farm visit (500-750 words) to be posted online by
10/13
Fast Food Paper (500-750 words)
* Visit any chain/franchise restaurant. The more prolific the restaurant chain (i.e. national) the
better. Write a personal response to the place. Include as many details about the place as
possible, and the food. This response can be pro or con, simply honest. (See: Calvin Trillin &
Steingarten.)
10/15
**FALL BREAK **
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10/20 “Food, Inc.” part 1 – in class viewing
Documentary by Robert Kenner (2008) about the food industry
Prospectus for Profiles due
10/22 “Food, Inc.” part 2 – in class viewing
Reading
Excerpts from Carlo Petrini, Slow Food: The Case for Taste
10/27
Discussion of documentary and upcoming essay assignment
10/29 Discussion of Essay on Food & Politics: Organic, Local or Slow


Position Paper (750-1000 words). Select from one of the food issues/trends: organic, local,
slow. Research the topic. Interview at least one person on the topic. Quote and cite at least
one book on the subject. Be sure to use citations (MLA) properly. Your goal: To answer the
following question:
What do you think? For or against?
Reading:
“Bad Boy in the Kitchen,” by Luke Jennings (New Yorker Profile of Marco Pierre White)
11/3 (First Profiles Due & Week of Conferences)
11/5
No class meetings in lieu of conferences, check conference and workshop schedules
11/10
PROFILES (2 per class)
* Profile of a food person – professional or amateur. 2500 words. Will be workshopped.
11/12
PROFILES
11/17
PROFILES
11/19
PROFILES
11/24
PROFILES
11/26 ** THANKSGIVING **
12/1
** Last Class**
12/9
SECOND READING DAY: PROFILE REVISION DUE
By 5pm at Greenlaw 313
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[APPENDIX A: Proper Format]
Harry Potter
1313 Mockingbird Lane
Hogsworts Center, WW 37ZY
The Beginning of Things
All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All work and no
play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not play all work and
no play. All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All work and
no play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not play all work
and no play.
All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All
work and no play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not play
all work and no play. All work and no play make jack a dull boy.
All work and no play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not
8
play all work and no play. All work and no play make jack a dull
boy. All work and no play make Jane a dull girl. All work and
not play all work and no play.
Potter, Beginning…2
“All work and no play make Jane a dull boy,” said Jack who
worried about his Janeness.
“Go away,” said Jane. “You’re a freak.”
“You hurt my feelings.” Jack ran from the room in tears.
Jane laughed and played her x-box.
All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All work and no
play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not play all work and
no play. All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All work and
no
“All work and no play make Jane a dull boy,” said Jack who
worried about his Janeness.
“Go away,” said Jane. “You’re a freak.”
“You hurt my feelings.”
Jack ran from the room in tears.
Jane laughed and played her x-box.
All work and no play make jack a dull boy. All work and no
play make Jane a dull girl. All work and not play all work and
no play. All work and no play make jack a dull
9
Please Note: Acceptable fonts are Courier and Times Roman, 10 pt or 12 pt.
Please do not turn in stories with extra large or extra small point sizes.
Allow at least an inch margin at top/bottom and on both sides.
DO NOT DOUBLE SPACE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS!