Our Food Writing Competition saw writers across the world explore memories, cultures, and family traditions through the lens of food, delving into the sensory and emotional experience of the meals we consume. “I focused on materialising the experiences I’d reserved in a special part of my memory into words so other people could feel them too,” says Ryann, winner of the competition. “The gentle pain arising from voluntarily moving away from your country, and then that confusion felt when you’re not really a part of one country, but not really part of another one either.”
Read on for insights, advice, and inspiration from our winners!
Ryann Lahiri, Winner:
Have you tried Food Writing before? How did you approach writing in this unique genre?
Nope! This was the first time I’ve ever attempted it, so I started by reading up on the genre, exploring the kind of language and tone typically used in food writing. That’s how most of my writing process goes when I’m responding to a prompt - I research the genre to observe its characteristics, and then I shut off completely and just focus on writing. I’m careful about not reading related work after I’ve started writing so that I don’t unconsciously alter my artistic voice, and only stick to doing factual research after that point. Here, I noticed some great opportunities for metaphors and descriptive language, so I chose to lean into the use of adjectives, going for a ‘poetic prose’ vibe to drive the melancholy of the emotions I described home (I definitely did not frequently scurry to the kitchen to sniff cinnamon so I could find a precise adjective for it).
Guest Judge Nastasha Alli loved how your winning piece “encapsulates the experience of feeling caught between worlds.” How did you go about capturing this?
Honestly, I didn’t realise I was capturing this until I read the finished piece again. While I was writing, I just focused on materialising the experiences I’d reserved in a special part of my memory into words so other people could feel them too - the gentle pain arising from voluntarily moving away from your country, and then that confusion felt when you’re not really a part of one country, but not really part of another one either. This manifested in the fear that I wouldn’t be able to do justice to my culture and the food I grew up eating before I embarked on writing this piece; I didn’t feel ‘qualified’ enough, and didn’t want to let my culture down. I used this vulnerability as a tool to drive my essay, weaving in nuggets of my experiences from memory to flesh out the piece, which I believe helped me connect with the feeling of being caught between worlds.
Can you tell us about an author or poet who has influenced your writing style?
I love the raw softness and bittersweetness of Ocean Vuong’s writing (I’ve read On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous at least three times this year, and his poetry also constantly inspires me). For this prompt specifically, Sandeepa Mukherjee Datta’s books These Delicious Letters and Bong Mom’s Cookbook were especially helpful for using descriptive language to strengthen my essay. I highly recommend both authors for pretty much anyone looking for good writing to cosy up with on a rainy day, and cannot stress enough how much their talent has motivated me to develop my skills. As always, though, these resources wouldn’t be able to truly help me write the piece without Write the World as a constant source of inspiration and support, so I’m thankful to the Guest Judge Nastasha Alli and the wonderful platform WtW provides me with to keep writing and growing, without which I wouldn’t have been able to develop into the writer I am today.
Laura Wildsmith, Best Peer Review:
What is your usual process for writing a peer review?
I always read through the whole piece of writing carefully before I write the review. Then I like to fill in the review prompts, and add additional comments on specific parts of the piece, so the author can easily understand what I’m trying to say. I try to be very specific, so that people don’t feel overwhelmed when they receive it!
The Guest Judge praised your review for being “constructive yet conversational”. How do you achieve this conversational tone, whilst still offering constructive feedback?
I always like to write reviews like I’m writing an email or letter directly to the author, for example using “you could…” instead of “the author could…”. I just think it makes it seem more friendly and personal. I also like to keep it quite brief, focusing on one or two things the writer could improve on, and one or two things they did really well!
What book or piece of writing would you like to recommend to other writers on the site?
I’m really enjoying Christelle Dabos’ The Mirror Visitor series at the moment, which is a Harry Potter-like fantasy. I also really enjoy Theodore Gray and Stephen Hawking, as they make subjects like maths and science (which are usually quite a challenge to read) funny and easy to understand.
