Fuchsia Dunlop is one of my culinary and literary heroes. Her memoir, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read – and the fact that it’s full of tantaliaing food descriptions and recipes is the cherry on top!
Fuchsia has won four James Beard Awards for her work. From Sichuan Cookery (which in the US was published as Land of Plenty) to Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking, and more, she has shared Chinese food culture with the masses.
Some of her other work has appeared in the New Yorker, Saveur, Lucky Peach, Financial Times and Gourmet, and you’ve probably seen her as a guest on Netflix’s Ugly Delicious with David Chang, and Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown.
If you can’t tell by now, Fuchsia is a force of nature. Talking with her was a huge honour and her ongoing love for her work – decades into it – is evident. Her career began with a sub-editing job at the BBC, which led her to take Mandarin classes and after that she won a British Council scholarship to study a year in Chengdu, China, the heart of Sichuan province. The rest, as they say, is history.
Show notes:
-Her newest book release: The Food of Sichuan → https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Sichuan-Fuchsia-Dunlop/dp/1324004835
-She also does culinary tours around China! Check out her website for more info: www.fuchsiadunlop.com
-Shout out to Ed Levine, founder of Serious Eats, for connecting me with Fuchsia. You should check out his book, Serious Eater: A Food Lover’s Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption. And he was episode #8 of this podcast! https://keepitquirkypodcast.com/8-ed-levine-of-serious-eats-on-the-era-of-reluctant-entrepreneurs/
—Fuchsia Dunlop—
Instagram & Twitter // @fuchsiadunlop
—Keep It Quirky—
Instagram // @keepitquirkypodcast
Katie Quinn on Insta & Twitter // @qkatie
Don’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletter! Go here: http://eepurl.com/dNtAx2
