Cooking Up Stories: V. & D. Povall's Literary (and Literal) Kitchen

Hello there readers!

This week we're looking at our love of cooking and how it's incorporated into our writing. 

If you're a regular reader of ours, you know that we both come from a multicultural background. We both grew up in Mexico City, and food has always been a major part of our lives. Luis Buñuel (the great Spanish, Mexican, and French filmmaker) was Victoria's godfather in Mexico City, and his wife Jeanne taught her a lot about cooking, along with Victoria's nana and mother. If we had to pick our favorite thing to cook, we'd say steak and caesar salad, or carne en chile colorado. 

At first glance, there may not appear to be a connection between cooking and creative writing. But try looking closer; there are several parallels. Both start with a blank canvas--a pristine kitchen countertop and an empty page. The artist's imagination begins the process. They wield their tools of the trade. Whether it's pots and pans, or paragraphs and punctuation, something completely new is created. The chef selects their ingredients, and the writer their words. When done well, both creations arouse the senses. Experimentation leads to new discoveries. Hopefully, the writer and the chef can balance flavors and transform simple ideas and ingredients into a masterpiece that appears on page or plate. 

When we started writing our first novels together, we knew right away we wanted to incorporate our love of cooking into the story. We came up with a multicultural cookbook that our main character found, then researched and created all the dishes, and then put the recipes in an appendix for our readers. They're also all on our website if you want to try them out.

We strongly recommend the tarte de mademoiselle tatin. 

Oh, and the paella. David picked up and perfected this recipe after visiting relatives in Spain, and studying with Victoria's mother. You need to nail the socarrat!

If you try making the tart or the paella, let us know! 

Until next time,

~2authors