The Meal We Remember
Describe your most memorable meal shared with someone special. What made the food, the setting, or the company unforgettable? Reflect on the emotional and sensory details of the experience.
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Cut every sentence that only repeats the one before it.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
- Use one example from your own life.
Writing cooking books
Recipes that work, and a reason to cook them.
Cookbooks and food writing cover everything from a single cuisine to the science of how cooking works. The best ones have a point of view: a voice, a philosophy, a story behind the food.
What readers expect
- Reliable, tested recipes
- A clear point of view
- Stories behind the food
- Beautiful, useful design
A tip before you start
Test every recipe more than once, ideally in someone else's kitchen. Readers forgive a lot, but not a cake that fails.
More Cooking, Food and Wine prompts
- Fire Pits and FermentationWrite a narrative exploring the resurgence of an ancient cooking method in modern kitchens, such as fermenting or fire pit cooking. Include interviews…
- From Farm to TableChronicle the journey from farm to table for a specific meal you prepared, emphasizing sustainable practices. Discuss each ingredient's origins, the…
- A Meal That Changed My MindDescribe a transformative dining experience that altered your perspective on a particular cuisine. Delve into sensory descriptions—tastes, smells…
- Food and Cultural IdentityWrite an essay on the role of food in cultural identity. Choose one particular cuisine and explore how it reflects the culture, traditions, and…
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