The Flintridge Prep community experienced a double-header of Los Angeles writers recently, with Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Gold making a stop to campus the same day that writer Chip Jacobs ’80 met with a faculty book group.
Mr. Gold is a food critic and currently writes for the Los Angeles Times. In 2007, he became the first food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the superb book, Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles and contributes to the KCRW radio show “Good Food.” He spoke to students in The City in Literature about food and culture in Los Angeles. Listening to him speak, it’s easy to see Mr. Gold’s passion for food, but as students who have read Counter Intelligence know, Mr. Gold is an anthropologist who uses food as a medium for understanding Los Angeles and the many cultures that call it home.
“For many of the students, the highlight of the visit was the Q&A; our students asked great open-ended questions he seemed to enjoy, like ‘What are you eating for dinner tonight?,’ ‘What is the worst meal you’ve ever had?,’ ‘What are your feelings about molecular gastronomy?,’ ‘What are your methods for finding the next place to eat or review?,’” says Dr. Tyke O’Brien, whose students participated in the conversation. “He answered each question in many different ways, meandering through related topics like a great impromptu jazz riff. We learned about everything from his own potato latke recipe, to ‘mapping’ Los Angles via food, to what changed—and didn’t—when he lost his food critic anonymity. He covered the difference between hole-in-the-walls and elite establishments and encouraged students to adopt a spirit of adventure for going down the road less traveled when eating in and around LA. He also gave advice for pursuing their upcoming ‘foodcast’ podcast projects.”
You can read an article about Jonathan Gold’s visit to campus in 2011 here.
