Food and drink…
I don’t dwell on either food or drink in my stories, but I can have some fun with them. In a sense, they both come under the writing category “settings” because what people dine on and imbibe is characteristic of the general area where the story takes place.
But is tikka masala or baklava characteristic of London? Yes, first because my character Esther Brookstone loves both, and second because London is a cosmopolitan city—Indian food is prevalent (London’s Brick Lane is famous) because India was part of Britain’s colonial past; and Britain, despite Brexit, is still part of Europe, so European cuisine is well represented (baklava is widespread in eastern Mediterranean countries and specifically in Greece).
Many big cities are cosmopolitan—I had my first curry in Boston and my first baklava in Bogota, Colombia—that’s the nature of large cities. When I write about dining in these cities, I worry about yielding to cliches; it’s natural to do that following the adage “When in Rome…” and motivated by the desire to provide local color. Readers presume the best pulled pork might be found in Savannah, the best clam chowder in Boston, and the best dim sung in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Those typical, regional and ethnic dishes also allow an author to play against stereotype as well. A character invites someone out for a fancy dinner and says about the target restaurant, “I’ve found that X serves Y as good as any you can find in Z!” In fact, that might just impress the invitee even more because the inviter has found X.
Of course, beverages can play a similar role. I probably go overboard with teatime in my British-style mysteries (the “Esther Brookstone” novels have become more British as the series progresses), but teatime is still very much a part of British (and Irish!) life. And frankly, the real reason is that I like tea almost as much as I like coffee! (My fav tea is Earl Grey. And, living in Colombia 10+ years addicted me to the world’s best coffee.)
So…use the Goldilocks Principle: Just enough about food and drink, not too much, not too little…and have some fun with both!
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The Klimt Connection. Did you miss this “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series addition, Book Eight in the series? It’s available wherever quality ebooks are sold (but not on Amazon). Better yet: Have a binge-read! Novels #6 and #7 are free PDF downloads. See the list on the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page where you will find other free fiction as well.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
