Notes (And No Recording) From April 8 Meeting

Was It a Secret Society Meeting or a You Just Had to Be There Moment?

Today’s meeting was small and cozy. There were just four of us, so we decided not to record it and pretended it was a secret society meeting.

While we did talk about some of our pet peeves related to Substack, the sort that are a bit gossipy and better off the record, we mostly had a really pleasant conversation, reflected on our shared wish to get people to read us, not just out of the wish to make it big here, but more to make sure that we keep finding joy in writing here, in the context of all the pressures and mysteries of the algorithm and increasing the social media nature of the platform.

We talked about the fact that we are, after all, our own ideal readers and how when we write from a place of curiosity and passion for our topics, this comes across to the readers and makes our writing more appealing. Including getting excited by citrus related objects.

A picture of two citrus related objects, photo inspired by something Bruce said (Photo: Liza Debevec)

Instead of a recording, today you get a little introduction to the four people who were on this call and invitation to check out and subscribe to our Substacks, if you don’t already do so.

Melissa Norman writes a publication called Yes! You Can Eat This, which in her own words is “about making cooking feel easy, joyful and inclusive for busy home cooks even when food intolerances or plant-based preferences are part of everyday life to make one meal that everyone at the table can share, without stress, separate dishes or overthinking. Helping you fall back in love with cooking and eating together again.”

As someone who had in the past been on a very restrictive diet due to stress induced allergies (not sure if this is a scientific description, but basically most foods made my skin itch so much, I could not sleep), I know the value of having access to recipes that don’t mean you’ll have to only eat dry fruit while everyone else is gorging on a cake.

Bruce McMichael (whose Substack handle is The Lemon Grove) writes The Lemon Grove. He says: “Open just about any cookbook and you’ll find references to citrus fruits from oranges and lemons to finger limes and yuzu. The Lemon Grove, is all about these flavours and the writer's passion for the how the fruits have influenced communities, food history, migration, kitchen tools, gastronomy and cooking.”

Given that I consider the taste of a freshly squeezed orange juice to be one of the best things in the world, I am always excited to read what Bruce writes.

Amela Marin writes Imaginary Recipes, a newsletter “exploring the many facets of our imperfect world through food, through people, and the stories that bind them. What began as a memoir of food and cooking during the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (April 5, 1992-February 29,1996), has grown into a space where [she] writes about food, literature, language and memory”.

Amela and I share a former country, one that no longer exists. We also share a passion for hosting people and story telling, which Amela does in an absolutely exquisite manner.

And I, Liza Debevec, write two publications Sharing Secrets (and Other Useful Stuff) and Scattered Crumbs and Tangled Tales. I am a coach, social anthropologist, a foodie, a polyglot, a story teller and a generally curious (and nosy) person. My two publications reflect this eclectic personality mix.

This it for this month. Remember that Mastermind for Food Writers is a free membership group that was started by Rebecca Blackwell and is supported also by Chef Carla Contreras and myself. We are all volunteers and this publication is free and open to all food writers/readers. If you wish to support our endeavours, do consider subscribing to our respective publications.

You can check out links to the publications of our members here — and if you are a member but not yet listed here, do let Rebecca Blackwell know so she can add you:

Directory

And remember that you can use the Chat section of this publication to connect with other writers here. Also, you can always join our monthly meetings, with the next two coming up on May 6 (UK/Europe/Africa/Asia time zone friendly ) and May 13 (US time zones friendly) - with registration links coming later this month.

Thank you for reading and see you soon on one of the future calls in the time zone of your choice.

Liza Debevec