The more work we do with this project, the more we realise how much it means to us and we have been plotting some great things for the future. The feeling of a changing season can be renewing, and although we’ve only just begun this work this shift in season matches our shift into the next gear, phase and energy. SOURCED launched seven weeks ago and in that time we have really enjoyed your support and encouragement.
This is our second free-monthly newsletter where we catch you up on what we’ve published and what we have coming up.
Our first paid newsletter – read for free here – looked at decolonisation and how Anna understands it as a continuous action. Chloe renewed an old obsession with mid-century salads and their relationship to nationalism. The second issue explores narratives, nostalgia and memory and its relationship to the study of history. Chloe explained that “good historians don’t know dates – that’s what Google is for – they investigate and challenge narratives in order to broaden our understanding of history and ourselves.” Anna broke out the Maggi mee and wrote a ‘recipe’ for finding space and belonging in instant noodles.
These subscriptions allow us to devote time to research and have funds to commission research, articles and illustrations like this issue’s header image by London-based illustrator and animator, Ling Tang – keep your eyes open for an interview with Ling and the ingredient that inspired this piece. Your paid subscriptions have also allowed us to commission Elizabeth Dean for a piece on the colonization of salmon in the Pacfic North West (US) that will be published in the next couple of weeks. We are keeping all our research and articles, such as Elizabeth’s piece, free on our website as access to knowledge is very important to us. But, if you haven’t already and would like to upgrade your subscription to our bi-monthly newsletter, with some bonus essays, recipes and research insights, click here! The paid subscription starts from £3.50/month.
We decided to have monthly tutorials as a space to informally discuss some of the topics we address with SOURCED. These take place on Instagram live and can be accessed through our IGTV. Our first two tutorials look at culinary systems and decolonisation.
We’re still working out the format for these but we hope to make them more interactive soon. Our main goal with these tutorials is to have a conversation with the SOURCED community about our process and provide a resource that explains difficult topics. We would love to hear what topics you’d like to hear discussed so please get in touch if you have any ideas.
This month, Anna interviewed Mr. Lyan/Ryan Chetiyawardana about his experience in the drinks world. You can read Anna’s reflection on the interview here, and listen to audio of the conversation here.
Chloe’s take:
This first season of SOURCED is focused on the question ‘What are culinary systems?’ and it was really interesting to listen to Anna and Ryan discuss the movement of knowledge as part of these systems. Anna and Ryan really dive into how knowledge sharing can be used to create positive change within our food systems in a way that shows how knowledge is one of the most important ingredients of innovation in food and drink. This knowledge goes beyond sharing formulas and recipes and is really about giving people agency to innovate. As Ryan explains, there is a tendency to think about drinks, specifically cocktails, as rote formulas. But what if we saw those ‘rules’ more like loose guidelines? What kind of innovation are we missing out on when we restrict our understanding of food and drink to tradition?
Also we have nine The Ten interviews to read; across the year we are asking an array of people the same set if 10 questions to find patterns and being the discussion of what culinary systems mean to individuals.
In our next paid newsletter we will be discussing ideas around consumption and consumers, here are a couple of things to read on the topic (not all are food related):
These three articles, across the last decade and in different publications, address how framing of sustainability and the future of the world is very driven by the global north and not thinking about consumption (thank you to @alliumdevourer and @meherM for bringing them to my attention - ASM)
Global Justice, 2019
NPR, 2015
Guardian, 2011