When I worked at food magazines, my colleagues and I spent a lot of time claiming to know what recipes “people” wanted, or didn’t. These self-made opinions came in handy when I was pitching my own story ideas: They want raw broccoli, they want new takes on pesto, they want matcha swirl cakes. Of course, alternate theories emerge when your ideas are about to be canned. I’ve had to accept many dubious claims, including: people don’t want to see fish faces, artichokes scare people, and, famously, “no one likes anchovies.” (Leave a comment if you know who to attribute that last quote to.)
Well, the fact is, who knows? And the other fact is, you’re probably wrong. Some people like what other people don’t, and food is subjective so why are we even talking about this? Instead of guessing, or trying to anticipate, all a person in my position can do is make the food they’re into, describe it passionately, argue our case, and the reader will follow. Maybe!?!
Heading into a recent video shoot schedule, I knew I wanted to work on a few new dinners, but out of nowhere, all of that misguided expertologist commentary bubbled up, the internal chatter of self-doubt:
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