October, 2007

When we think of food, we tend to celebrate chefs, restaurants, growers and retailers, but what about consumers? There are some noteworthy consumers out there and many are sharing their food obsession via blogs. We were alerted to grabyourfork.blogspot.com by some of our cooking class students who found out about our kaiseki cooking class from this blog.

The author Helen, came to our class earlier this year, and Kei and I thought we had seen her somewhere before. Judging from her blog, Helen has been everywhere where there is good food--so no doubt her presence is recorded in your subconscious too.

In a word, her blog is consummate. Like most blogs, it's long and continuous, and easy to get lost in "Helen's world", and it's fun. I suffered mouse wrist fatigue after navigating her site. But unlike most blogs that inevitably become self obsessed, Helen stays on message--she is food obsessed. Her blog is mainly Sydney based, she updates reviews whenever she revisits a restaurant, which is great given the high turnover of management in many Sydney eateries. But it's not just restaurant reviews--it's all the regular or irregular food-related events she covers that makes this blog an invaluable resource for Sydney foodies.

She has some international content (U.S.A., New Zealand, Japan), and of course I went to the Japan sections, which are excellent. Her eye for important minutiae, like pickle tasting etiquette in department stores, and her shameless voyeurism, like taking close up shots of salarymen launching into their noodles, is rather delightful. She explains and translates things properly, her information is reliable, and her photos are beautiful. But what's most delightful is her childlike fascination with all things Japanese. I like how she notices the ubiquitous Hello Kitty everywhere she goes--another obsession of hers perhaps? Interesting preoccupation for a foodie as Kitty has no mouth.

Helen's blog is whimsical (her pseudonym seems to be Augustus Gloop and she goes eating with Veruca, both characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), yet informative, therefore emphasising the fun in food. I love how she marvels in what I probably wouldn't even notice in Japan, like the vending machines for everything from drinks to underpants, and the spontaneous eruption of disposable chopsticks as sculpture in cheap eateries.

Of course, she has a lovely review of our kaiseki cooking class as well, but that's not why I like her blog or think it's worth perusing. I just like her enthusiasm for food, and in this world where food is becoming a serious issue on so many fronts (obesity, the drought, transfats, additives, etc. etc.....) it's nice to enter a blogosphere that's about the enjoyment of food.

by Masako Fukui Copyright Kei's Kitchen 2007