Food Writing: Tips and Examples for Success

If you have a passion for food and a way with words, food writing might be an excellent way for you to combine your two loves while growing your skill set.

From cookbooks to memoirs, food writing offers countless opportunities for writers to express themselves and their love for a good meal.

In this post, we’ll show you some of the best examples of food writing, along with tips for how you can get started.

What Is Food Writing?

Food writing is a nonfiction category of writing that focuses on the topic of food. It often takes the form of creative nonfiction in memoirs and essays, but it can also include histories and scientific explanations.

Food writing is topic-centered, and not considered a genre in itself. Rather, it can encompass or borrow from a wide range of genres, including journalism, recipe books, memoirs, or travelogues.

Examples of Food Writing

Here are some exemplary works of food writing that show how diverse the field can be.

“The Modern Hunter-Gatherer” by Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan is best known for his writings that explore the socio-cultural impacts of food.

In “The Modern Hunter-Gatherer,” Pollan describes his first experience hunting, offering his perspective of the entire process, from the kill to the presentation at the table.

“Hers is, by the standards of animal death, a good one. But could I really say that yet? What if it turned out I couldn’t eat this meat? Her death then will have been pointless, a waste. I realized then that the drama of the hunt doesn’t end until the animal arrives at the table.”

“Home Cooking Can Be a Feminist Act” by Nigella Lawson

In this essay, food writer Nigella Lawson insists that she’s not a chef; rather, she takes pride in being a home cook, and encourages others to stop saying they’re “just” a home cook.

Lawson explains that home cooking is often devalued because “traditionally, chefs [have] been male and paid; home cooking was ‘women’s work,’ unwaged and taken for granted, sentimentally prized but not essentially valued or respected.”

But women can reclaim the title of home cook by taking pride in the work they do to maintain kitchens, whether they do so professionally or in their own homes.

“Cooking is also, supremely, a creative act. By that I mean not an art but a craft. I leave the Art with a capital A to chefs. For the home cook, or for this home cook in particular, there is something less lofty and more physical: the feel of the dough in my fingers, the scent of a lemon as I zest the skin and the aromatic oils spritz in the air, the sizzle of onions in a pan, the darkly gleaming beauty of an eggplant. Cooking provides deep aesthetic pleasure though it is manual work.”

“Don’t Eat Before Reading This” by Anthony Bourdain

This 1999 article in The New Yorker is what led to Anthony Bourdain’s breakout book, Kitchen Confidential.

The title pretty much says it all—Bourdain spills trade secrets from the food and restaurant industry, including why you probably don’t want to order fish on a Monday.

The article was a shocking exposé that opened readers’ eyes to some not-so-pleasant realities of their favorite restaurants, but it also introduced Bourdain as a writer with unparalleled talent.

“Good food, good eating, is all about blood and organs, cruelty and decay.“

How to Write About Food

These 7 tips will help you become a more effective food writer, whether you write columns, books, or blog posts.

1. Don’t be picky.

This may seem obvious, but you probably shouldn’t set out to be a food writer if you’re not willing to try a whole lot of foods.

If you’re a culinary expert, then you’ll be expected to have a wide range of knowledge across different cuisines—that’s a knowledge you can only acquire if you aren’t afraid to try new things.

And even if you aren’t an expert and your writing focuses more on a layperson’s experiences with food, you’ll still need to be open to more “adventurous” plates. After all, your audience likely wants to read about dishes or techniques they’ve never tried before—not the same thing they have for dinner every Tuesday.

2. Capture the experience.

Look for multi-sensory ways to describe food and the experience of eating. When you eat, you often engage multiple senses, so don’t just talk about what your tastebuds are experiencing.

A fun way to challenge yourself is to ban the words “taste” and “flavor” from your writing. Write about what the food is or does. Think about what you’re also seeing, smelling, touching, and even hearing.

The goal of most food writing is to tell your readers what the food experience is like, or will be like for them should they ever try that dish or travel to the region you’re covering.

That said, expand your scope to include more than just the food. You can write about the environment and atmosphere around you to create a truly multi-sensory experience for your readers. Make them feel that they’re in the room with you, even if they never get to visit the exact same place.

3. Don’t forget the people.

On the surface, food writing is about food. But if you look deeper, you’ll see that it’s really about people and their land, culture, history, and traditions.

Consider who was involved in making the meal, as well as the dish’s history. How did it start, and where is it now? Has it been modified, adapted, or appropriated by other cultures?

Talk to the people who prepared the food, as well as those who eat it regularly. Food writing offers unique opportunities for storytelling, so unless your writing is strictly academic or expository, try to weave context into your coverage of the cuisine. Don’t forget the human element!

4. What’s new to you isn’t necessarily “strange.”

There are some words you just shouldn’t use in your food writing. A certain dish may seem “odd,” “strange,” or “weird” to you, but it might be a common, even central part of other cultures.

Avoid words like those listed above in your food writing. Even if your intentions are good, these words carry negative connotations and indicate to a limited worldview on your part.

Similarly, you should use terms like “cheap” or even “inexpensive” with caution, Just because something seems affordable to you doesn’t mean it is for locals.

These are just some ethical tips regarding your word choice in food writing. However, you should also keep an eye out for words that are overused in the food writing world. These include “authentic,” “elevated,” and “hidden gem,” just to name a few. Always keep a thesaurus handy!

5. Consult experts or locals.

If you’re exploring a food territory that’s new to you, it’s a good idea to consult experts or locals who can provide feedback and make sure your coverage is accurate, but also respectful of the local culture.

They can help you with the proper terminology and spelling, provide helpful context, and offer insights that will make your piece more engaging and inspiring for your readers.

Do as much research as you can about the food you’re covering, its history, the region it comes from, how it’s prepared, and how it’s eaten. Failing to do your research will inevitably show in your writing and make you look like an amateur at best, careless and possibly offensive at worst.

6. Try a variety of writing styles.

The world of food writing offers endless possibilities, so don’t pigeonhole yourself into just writing reviews.

Branching out into other styles will not only build your repertoire, but also challenge you to think about food in different ways.

You may specialize in a certain type of food writing, but try writing a mix of reviews, recipes, features, or history pieces.

Mixing it up will also help keep you from growing bored or jaded. Being a food critic might sound like a thrilling job title, but after you’ve written your fifteenth piece on the best burgers in your city, it might be time to take a break or try something new (for your mind and your stomach’s sake!).

7. Embrace different forms of media.

Yes, this is an article about food writing, but if you’re trying to build your platform and break out as an authoritative voice on food, you should embrace social media and other outlets.

Since so much of the food experience is visual, create content for Instagram and challenge yourself to write about food with a restricted word count. You can even turn your reviews or feature pieces into TikTok videos!

Become a Food Writer

Like sports writing or nature writing, food writing can be a very interesting and exciting path for writers of creative nonfiction.

If you’re not sure where to start, try starting your own blog or social media channel that showcases your work. This is a great way to practice your food writing skills while also growing an audience.

Have you ever tried food writing? Tell us what you think of this niche in the comments below!

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As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.