A Literary Culinary Journal
by Simón de Swaan
Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men’s minds are also injured by them.–Mencius, c. 300 BC
Mencius, c. 300 BC, was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself. He encouraged “generosity, self-sacrifice, humility, receptiveness to instruction, as well as to powers associated with these qualities.”
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God cannot appear before a starving man except in the form of bread.–Mahatma Gandhi, 1947
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
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by Simón de Swaan
A hungry stomach cannot hear.–Jean de La Fontaine, 1679
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France and in French regional languages.
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Whatsoever was the father of a disease, an ill diet was the mother.–George Herbert, 1651
George Herbert was an English poet and orator, as well as an Anglican priest. Throughout his life, he wrote religious poems characterized by a precision of language and an ingenious use of imagery or conceits that was favored by the metaphysical school of poets. Some of Herbert‘s poems have endured as hymns, including “King of Glory, King of Peace” (Praise), “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing” (Antiphon) and “Teach me, my God and King” (The Elixir).
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by Simón de Swaan
Why is not a rat as good as a rabbit? Why should men eat shrimps and neglect cockroaches?–Henry Ward Beecher, 1862
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid- to late 19th century. An 1875 adultery trial in which he was accused of having an affair with a married woman was one of the most notorious American trials of the 19th century.
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by Simón de Swaan
A man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.–Book of Ecclesiastes, c. 225 BC
The Book of Ecclesiastes is from the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. It contains reflections on the meaning of life. “This book gives Christians a chance to see the world through the eyes of a person who, though very wise, is trying to find meaning in temporary, human things. Most every form of worldly pleasure is explored by the Preacher, and none of it gives him a sense of meaning,” says Got Questions. Neither the writer nor the date have been directly identified, but some of it is certainly by Solomon.
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by Simón de Swaan
When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.–Aristophanes, 424 BC
Aristophanes was a Greek comic writer and the son of Philippus. Most of his plays were political satires highlighting the troubles in Athens during that period. Many were performed at festivals, and were watched and voted for by the people. Unfortunately, out of the 40 plays he wrote, only 11 survive today.
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by Simón de Swaan
At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.–W. Somerset Maugham, 1896
W. Somerset Maugham was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer, who also had a medical degree and qualified as a surgeon. He did not practice medicine, but instead made us of his medical background in his writing, as in his 1897 novel Liza of Lambeth, which was a tale of working class adultery.
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by Simón de Swaan
Feasts must be solemn and rare, or else they cease to be feats.–Aldous Huxley, 1929
Aldous Huxley was an English novelist and critic, best known for his novel Brave New World (1931). Besides novels, he published travel books, histories, poems, plays, and essays on philosophy, arts, sociology, religion and morals. Brave New World is so influential that an entire website is devoted to it.
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Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.–Mark Twain
Mark Twain was an American author and the favorite of many. His novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, amusingly recounted many of the adventures being based on real occurrences he had either experienced personally or had witnessed.
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Meet Jonell Galloway, a freelance writer and editor specialized in French cuisine. 
