What’s for Dinner?

During the rationing and austerity of World War II, inspirational food writer M.F.K. Fisher published How to Cook a Wolf, in which she argued that even limited rations could become excellent eating. Once food became freely available again in the 1950s and 1960s, more books and TV shows followed. The first TV show on food was James Beard’s 15-minute I Love to Eat. Julia Child’s monumental book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, came out in 1961, followed in 1963 by Julia’s TV show The French Chef, which taught us how to prepare classical French dishes. The TV viewing audience for these shows were not only women, because men were interested too. In 1966 Joyce Chen Cooks expanded the TV range to include Chinese dishes. In 1993 the Food Network started, featuring food and cooking 24/7. Food writers since then have included Christopher Kimball, Anthony Bourdain, and chefs Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri.