M. F. K. Fisher

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (1908–1992) was an American writer whose essays and books treated food, eating, and the pleasures of the table as subjects of literary art.

The Gastronomical Me: M. F. K. Fisher’s 1943 memoir uses food and appetite to tell the story of her life. This memoir most directly shows how she made personal experience the substance of food writing.
Dijon: A city in eastern France known for its historical center and regional cuisine. Fisher studied in Dijon in the 1930s, an experience that informed her writing about French food.
W. H. Auden: An English poet and critic whose work shaped twentieth-century literature. Auden praised Fisher’s writing and contributed a preface to The Art of Eating.
The Art of Eating: A 1954 collection bringing together five books by M. F. K. Fisher. This volume made her central works available together and became a lasting introduction to her writing.
How to Cook a Wolf: M. F. K. Fisher’s 1942 book offers practical food advice shaped by wartime scarcity. Its recipes and reflections show her joining culinary instruction with literary voice.
The Joy of Cooking: An American cookbook first published by Irma S. Rombauer in 1931. Fisher’s early work included a 1936 translation of this cookbook into French.
Alice B. Toklas: An American-born writer whose Paris life and cookbook became closely associated with Gertrude Stein. Toklas shared Fisher’s ability to make food writing personal and literary.
The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink: A reference work on the history and culture of food and drink in the United States. Its coverage places Fisher within the development of American food writing.
Consider the Oyster: M. F. K. Fisher’s 1941 book is a collection of essays and recipes about oysters. Its wit and appetite-driven observations exemplify her treatment of a single food as a broad subject.
Serve It Forth: M. F. K. Fisher’s 1937 book of essays on food, history, and eating. This first book established the essay form and historical range she developed throughout her career.

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James BeardRelated: Fisher shared Beard’s conviction that food writing could treat eating as a subject worthy of serious attention.