Hello Tara. Loved this interview with Valerie. And I’m looking forward to your return to food writing! My husband and I love cooking & baking and find it an excellent stress reliever.
Though, we have yet to tackle the recipes from The Cooking of Provincial France by MFK Fisher. Yes, we own it and after reading your book Lean Out, there’s even more kinship with your podcast :-)
I was hoping that the interview would mention Han Kang's relationship with food and share a favourite recipe. I have read only the Vegetarian and Greek Lessons in which meaning often shifts from the psychological to the bodily. Tara - if you have read the Writers' Table, does she provide an interesting recipe or present food as social connection?
After reading the section on Han Kang, I had resolved to read The Vegetarian - and your comment reminded me, so thank you. The Writers Table does not give a Kang recipe but it does explore her relationship to food (the theme was renunciation as a moral good), including quoting from The Vegetarian. One fascinating tidbit: Kang apparently celebrated her Nobel Prize win quietly, with a cup of tea with her son.
Felt like the perfect topic for the 1st Lean Out of 2026 in this liminal space of the end of year holidays.
Hello Tara. Loved this interview with Valerie. And I’m looking forward to your return to food writing! My husband and I love cooking & baking and find it an excellent stress reliever.
Though, we have yet to tackle the recipes from The Cooking of Provincial France by MFK Fisher. Yes, we own it and after reading your book Lean Out, there’s even more kinship with your podcast :-)
I was hoping that the interview would mention Han Kang's relationship with food and share a favourite recipe. I have read only the Vegetarian and Greek Lessons in which meaning often shifts from the psychological to the bodily. Tara - if you have read the Writers' Table, does she provide an interesting recipe or present food as social connection?
After reading the section on Han Kang, I had resolved to read The Vegetarian - and your comment reminded me, so thank you. The Writers Table does not give a Kang recipe but it does explore her relationship to food (the theme was renunciation as a moral good), including quoting from The Vegetarian. One fascinating tidbit: Kang apparently celebrated her Nobel Prize win quietly, with a cup of tea with her son.
much gratitude Tara