Catherine Stine's IDEA CITY

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Monday, August 11, 2014

Calling all International fiction foodies! What's your fave foodie scene in a novel?

Today, Idea City joins Lexa, Medeia and Beth, the creators of the International Potluck Fest in talking about great foodie scenes in fiction! Oh, and there's a giveaway Rafflecopter. To enter it, check out one of the hosts' blogs.

One of the funniest foodie scenes I've read is in Wallbanger (18+), a rowdy romance, where the protag's love interest is always cooking. There's a love-fest after bread-making, where they're literally rolling in the flour. Since that's too steamy to post here, I'll tell you about a scene from my NA romance, Private Internship that launches on September 29.

Artist Sienna is interning for bad-boy sculptor, Caz Mason. He's a major handful, and is constantly testing her with strange games, but one of his enticing talents is that he's a great cook!
Here's a snippet that displays his canny wiles:

 “Come up for air,” he advises. “I’ve got some special victuals and a game for later.” Victuals is a good old Chaucerian term for food, ha! I guess Caz has gone to college. But more worrisome games? Meh. 

I breathe in the nutty steam of his gourmet coffee, and my mouth is watering at an earthy, spicy aroma that I can’t quite identify. Casper escorts me into the studio kitchen. He’s put on a lavender shirt that accentuates the molten tones in his hair. He motions me to one of the chairs and even pushes it in for me. This rebel knows some good manners. Tommy has set us up with actual cloth napkins, two large bowls, and silverware. Caz brings out a steaming pot of stew and ladles it into our bowls.

Joining me at the table, he sits forward in his chair instead of straddling it. “My own concoction,” he announces. “Pheasant chili.”

“What a treat.” I take an experimental bite. The flavor detonates in my mouth. “Man, this is great! Where’d you learn to cook?”

“From an old Texan migrant down in the Smokies.” Sounds dubious, but what do I know? I know that I appreciate a man who can cook. We gobble the food down. Something about hard physical labor—you work up quite an appetite. 

Afterwards, Caz wipes his mouth with the napkin and clears his throat. “So, why don’t you bring in a few of your pieces tomorrow? I should know what my intern is doing.”

My pulse spikes. I’m partly flattered and partly terrified—especially after his scathing critique on that very first day. “You sure? I mean, it’s not about my work, it’s about your—”

“Be more sure of yourself,” he barks. “I can’t tolerate insecure people.”

I shrivel up inside. But he’s right. I need to be strong, be proud. “Okay, fine. Shall I continue shoveling sugar after lunch?”

“Way too tedious,” he announces. “Let’s play a game.”

“What game? Not so sure I want any more of those.”

“Oh, don’t be a wimp,” he says wryly, and jumps up. “Let’s go.”

Do you use food in some way in your writing? To set mood? Entice? Add a sense of reality? What's your fave fictional scene involving food?

26 comments:

  1. I certainly don't use food as well as you do!

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  2. Well, first of all you've got my mouth watering for pheasant chili! And yes, I love to use food to set a mood. I mean think of Harry Met Sally, Tom Jones to name a couple of movies that set the scene with food. The same is good for novels. Now I'm off to bag a pheasant and make some chili!

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  3. Ha! Lee, good films examples. Alex, thanks. And I see that I actually jumped the gun and posted this a day early. Better than a day late...

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  4. Yum, pheasant chili! In thinking about it, I've used food a few times. In my YA post-apocalyptic, one of my characters, Samara, uses food as a means to take care of others. I've also used food as a comfort thing thing in both books. I only address it when it's people coming together. Never thought about it before.

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  5. Food of one kind or another always seems to make it into my writing. After it all, if WE need to stay alive, wouldn't our characters? Pheasant chili... I wonder if it tastes like chicken? :D

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  6. Wonderful little snipplet there! Food ends up in my stuff too.

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  7. Mmmmm....

    Cherdo
    www.cherdoontheflipside.com

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  8. LOL - now I want to read about them rolling in flour.

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  9. I want to find this book, wallbangers. That's going on my next book purchase list. Thanks for showing me a new book.

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  10. Hi, Catherine,

    So I've never heard of Pheasant chili before. Interesting. :)

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    1. JL, me either. I sorta kinda made it up for the book! But it does sound good...

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  11. Exactly! I appreciate a man who can cook, too! (Wish I had one. Mine doesn't do squat.) I loved the excerpt. Thanks for participating in the blogfest! :)

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  12. Yes, a man who cooks can be a sexy thing.

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  13. Awesome scene! Pheasant chili sounds amazing!!

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  14. That's a wonderful foody scene and I'm wondering about the game.

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  15. Medeia, ah, the game. Caz plays more than one...

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  16. There is something about a man who can cook, isn't there?

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  17. Rolling around in flour sounds messy. Cooking man equals a happy writer in my book. I can write until dinner time, right?

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  18. Flour? Sounds kind of fun. LOL. My characters are YA - they eat a lot of bagels :)

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  19. Man! That guy is kind of a jerk, but also kind of fascinating. =)

    Flour and steam...that sounds like a disaster to me. I'm sure it's an epic scene, but the idea makes me crave pizza for some strange reason.

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  20. I used to love the way Nancy Drew used food. It always made me hungry.

    Hmm, flour would get kind of pasty. Yes? lol

    Yum on the chili

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  21. Kim, yes! Write until dinnertime. Gwen, the bagel line cracked me up. Crystal, Caz is a jerk, but he reforms in a certain way... M, I don't remember the Nancy Drew foodie scenes. I'll have to check em out at some point.

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  22. Great scene, although I'll pass on Pheasant chili. LOL!

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  23. Fantastic scene! I think food can create a powerful moment in a story because it provokes a vivid reaction in readers.

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