Cooked Up: Food Fiction from Around the World (anthology)

Food is our common ground, bringing together families, communities and cultures. How we cook and eat can tell us a lot about ourselves. Food can evoke memories good and bad; can be symbolic of where we come from or where we want to be. Celebrating this universal experience, Cooked Up, compiled by Elaine Chiew, draws together authors from all over the world, each bringing to the table a unique literary interpretation of the food theme. A young man attempts to avoid military service by over-eating... a woman re-enacts her husband's infidelities with fish bones... students at a cookery school war over woks... a food bank visitor gets more than she bargained for... Meals are prepared and shared from Cambodia to an Indian kitchen in the US, from Russia to war-torn Croatia. These are mere glimpses into the rich variety of short stories (including flash fiction) contained in this book - a veritable treat for the senses and an uplifting cross-cultural reading experience. Contributors: Elaine Chiew Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni Rachel J. Fenton Diana Ferraro Vanessa Gebbie Pippa Goldschmidt Sue Guiney Patrick J. Holland Roy Kesey Charles Lambert Krystyn Lee Stefani Nellen Mukoma Wa Ngugi Ben Okri Susannah Rickards Nikesh Shukla 'A delectable collection, perfect for anyone who loves both food and fiction'. - Diana Henry, food writer, Sunday Telegraph Hear Elaine Chiew (editor and author) and Pippa Goldschmidt (author) talk about the book on BBC Radio Scotland Culture Studio, 31 minutes in. Read an exclusive interview with the organizer, editor and also a contributing writer of the 'Cooked Up' anthology, Elaine Chiew.