Home Cooked With Ruth Reichl

Food is what drives, satiates and completes us, renowned food enthusiast and pundit Ruth Reichl told a packed Cubberly Auditorium on Stanford's campus Tuesday night.

An established writer for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Reichl is known for her powerful deliberations on how to assess, examine and critique fine dining. She is editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine and has published a sundry of works, ranging from memoirs to delicate recipes.  

Reichl spoke to 400 intent listeners, harkening the culinary masters of the West and the legacy they’ve established into the 21st century. She noted the role of women in the fabric of culinary history across the world and remarked that women have only recently begun to emerge onto the scene. 

“We have an immeasurable love for the act of cooking—at home, in our kitchens, for our families and for ourselves,” Reichl beamed out into the audience. “We enjoy making meals, appreciating them for the effort we put into the process, from scratch to finish.”

Reichl's credo is that a connoisseur extends far beyond writing reviews and parsing out the flavors of a dish for a stirring review.

Reichl sees food as sustenance, a source of energy beyond carbohydrates and proteins. Each group is wholesomely fundamental to our existence as animals on this planet. Unfortunately, sometime early in the 20th century, our basic grains and simple fruits were monopolized by industry. 

The food groups were bastardized by the cogs and coils of factory work. They found a place in a bursting market, which is always incorporating new gastronomically different ways to freeze, fry, beat and batter products into sealable packaging to sit idly below Walmart’s wry smiley face, donning a "Lowest Price Tag."

“We have an obsession with food,” Reichl said. “We have this—tendency. We like to advertise, recreate, synthesize, package and conform our foods and eating habits. It’s becoming increasingly impersonalized.”

The image Reichl draws is a dreary one, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, she says. She discourages writers to jump whole-heartedly into the field unless they have a special love for food and a love for people. 

“The most important culture that we can have around food is that of our families,” Ruth said. “It’s important to invite people into your home, prepare meals for them and provide for those close to you. It instills courage, honor, pride and other qualities in the person.”

For Reichl, being a food critic showed her how much she enjoys the exchange of this energy.

“What place do restaurants have in this familial bonding circle?” local resident Victor Greene inquired.

“They are just as much a part of my life as cooking at home is,” Reichl responded. “It’s just important to slow down and appreciate what’s set before you. I myself make a steady diet off restaurant food, but that’s not to say I don’t completely embrace home-cooked meals made with my own hands.”

Following a rousing applause from the audience, Reichl stepped out to a book-adorned table for signing. Among them, college-bound William Chandler captured the essence of the spiel.

“Since the dawn of humanity there has been continuous growth and an ever-changing food industry,” Chandler said. “To hear someone of her authority recognize the simple meals is reassuring to someone like myself, who enjoys food for what it is—not for what it looks like on paper.”