Agnes’ Kitchen was borne out of a random conversation between two gourmets who have known each other for about a decade; no less enthusiastic over good food and the good life than when they first met each other, Tim’s Kitchen spurred Agnes to sign up for a new wordpress blog that would document food-related activities. She has always thought that food, air, water and Macbook are the basic necessities of life; this blog exemplifies her belief by combining all of the above into a single entity.
Now back to writing in first person… I’ve always wanted a space to expend my creative juices, a place to dictate my own literary norm and a domain to write about my love for food. In school, it has always been about writing creatively as long as they are within limits of academic writing. Occasionally stifling, I wish I could begin my essays with a song lyric, a rather outlandish haiku or a risque remark that would be a fantastic lead-in for my introduction. Unfortunately I never had the audacity to probe the boundaries of academic propriety and would never be able to deviate from the norms set by our studious ancestors because I am not daring (enough). Fortunately my lack of guts doesn’t lessen any of my desire to find a free medium to expend all these pent-up expressions.
Writing about food goes way back into the days when first became a media student; the love for food, understandably, goes further back to those days of my “first solid food”. As a student journalist, I used to write food reviews, features and other food-related articles for the publications I had a hand in. On the print and online medium, I used to write for the music, event, people beats but I was never really as enthusiastic as I was for the food stories. This enthusiasm was soon evident when some of my food articles had the highest hits on the e-zine (not because I’m the editor who rigs the publishing process) but it had also invited glowing comments, and even a call from overseas that complimented my writing. Needless to say, at 18 years old, being praised over a telephone conversation for a piece I’ve written on the huge online medium sure warms the bowels of my heart.
I am a firm believer of writing with my heart and soul. Now three years of academic writing has started to take its toll on me and I can feel that creative and linguistic agility is slowly dissipating. I fear the day I lose the ability to write “colourfully” in a humorous tone and use wonderfully woven words; I am afraid that in another year’s time, all I can write is climate change related affairs (not that I mind but I would sure love to be well-balanced), but most of all, I’m afraid I’ll lose my love for food and the enjoyment I get from writing about this love affair.
Other than writing about food, I love taking photos of them; it is a less than fancy but a rather decent Canon DSLR. I usually accompany my writing with nice photos – the rather arousing kinds that makes you want to eat them as you become visually stimulated. Using every way possible – through the English syntax and visual aids – it’s my wish to engage and heighten my readers’ senses.
“Media is an an extension of man,” said Marshall McLuhan in 1964. The medium has always been the message itself and the message that you seem to receive is not exactly what you are reading. But lest I get too philosophical trying to explain the “fundamental concepts” of media studies, I want to assuage the fears and sceptism of the readers: love is always a motivation to start and sustain an undertaking; this blog exists not because I crave power and thus am attempting to be a shareholder in the expansive Culture Industry by seizing a small slice of the means of (information) production to manipulate the masses (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1944, “The Culture Industry” and McLuhan). Truth is: the only reason this exists is because of love. (So please take the tagline of queen and of allegiance with a pinch of salt cos it’s just a very sarcastic and humorous Agnes making fun at truisms.)
I love good food and am proud to be known within my social circle as “the one with discerning taste buds”, “platinum tongue”, “trustworthy food reviewer”, with my comments used as a pivotal and heavy influence in one’s selection of a dinner place.
“If Agnes says it’s not good, it’s really not good.”
“Listen to her, she makes the best recommendations.”
“Her taste buds are quite accurate.”
“I trust her tongue the most.”
“Damn her tongue is so hard to please!”
And so the praises of my tongue and taste buds are endless. The comments could veer off towards a rather salacious fashion and begin dripping with innuendo but nothing will dilute the reality that although it’s an uphill task, it’s not quite a tall order trying to please my sense of taste. I think of this blog as having a “higher calling” and that is to spread the goodness eating well and good; with such a discerning and knowledgeable tongue, the experience and the love for writing on food, and as quite and adept chef (if I may say so myself), I shall give these qualities a purposeful existence by employing them to help others make informed choices on food.
Everyone needs food, air and water – at least Maslow says so and no one really begs to differ. He also said that man is a perpetual wanting animal and will keeping on wanting to fulfill the deficiencies in his life. Mankind, just to let you know, I am working hard to raise the levels of the quality of your basic needs – I understand how you are a perpetually wanting animal, a rational (sub-optimal being), a Homo Economicus – I see you, I hear you and I feel you. Currently I am working hard to fight for a world that sees an improvement to the quality of air and water as student of climate change politics. Now as I begin my second undertaking as a food writer that seeks to offer informed choices to your dietary needs and wants, I sleep peacefully knowing I have contributed to the progress of the society by raising their level of needs. Now no one can say, “Oh would you look at Agnes that useless entity who has done nothing for society!”
