By Sara Dickerman

Last year, I was privileged to write the introduction for Bison Books’ reissue of Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book, and it was a thrill to turn my thoughts to one of my favorite writers. She was a writer of tremendous agility. I regularly turn to her when I need a pair of fresh eyes on an ingredient that I’ve become bored with—a late summer glut of blackberries, say, or this spring’s asparagus (perhaps soon I will make her asparagus tart, or some asparagus “peas”—pea-sized diced asparagus in cream). But she was far too cunning and elegant a writer to only be remembered for her recipes. She was an archaeologist of the garden, celebrating lost or dying breeds of fruits and vegetables; a storyteller par excellence, passing on legends and histories of the foods she examined; and finally she was a sort of culinary psychologist. She seemed to get to the very soul of the foods she studied, never hesitating to show her fondness (or her disdain) for a particular ingredient: “In writing about food, the word spinach becomes praise, a standard of vegetable aspiration.”

I’m sad not to be able to be in New York next Saturday, the 15th when the Astor Center hosts a tribute to Ms. Grigson in honor of what would have been her 80th birthday. 

Speakers will include some tremendous writers: legendary editor Judith Jones; Amy Besa of New York’s Cendrillon and co-author of Memories of Phillipine Kitchens; Grace Young, author of The Breath of the Wok; food historian William Woys Weaver, author of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Growing, Seed Saving, and Cultural History; and the always-compelling Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn. Anne Willan, of La Varenne cooking school, will provide a video tribute.

Food for the all-day event will be provided by Katherine Alford, the director of the Food Network’s test kitchen; Besa’s husband, Cendrillon Chef Remy Dorotan; and cheese expert Daphne Zepos. It’s sure to be a delicious gathering!
 
A Tribute to Jane Grigson
Saturday, March 15, 2008
9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Astor Center
399 Lafayette Street (at East 4th Street)
New York, NY 10003

$95 includes program, meals, wine and cheese reception

For more information on the event, please visit http://www.astorcenternyc.com/class-a-tribute-to-jane-grigson.ac.

Click here for a complete listing of Jane Grigson titles available from the University of Nebraska Press.