I recently had lunch with Rahde Franke, a young man who is currently traveling around the world on something called a Watson Fellowship, which -- as he described it -- sounds like the real-life equivalent of finding a golden ticket in your Wonka Bar. Basically, Rahde is being paid to spend the next year studying how people in different countries grill their food. But since that basic description doesn't do justice to his very interesting project, I asked Rahde to participate in a little q&a:
1. How would you describe your project?
The Watson Fellowship is a bit different from most other post-graduate fellowships. It supplies recipients with the means to complete an independent project of their choice during a full year abroad, but it does not require a final product per se. The Watson Foundation doesn’t believe that it is investing in projects, but rather that it is investing in individuals, who will hopefully finish the year with a variety of experiences and exchanges that cause personal and societal enrichment. That is why they choose college graduates and not PhDs to do the year-long study. My project is on open-fire cooking around the world. I am using my interest in this cooking style to explore different cultures. My goal is to explore how people and open-fire cooking interact. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time in restaurants, homes, markets, and butcher shops watching and participating in the interactions that relate to open-fire cooking – it is incredibly interesting to me and loads of fun. My project takes place in five different countries: Jamaica, Turkey, South Africa, India and Vietnam.
2. What got you interested in the subject?
I grew up in a household full of strong women. My parents worked a lot and when they left me at home with my older sisters, someone needed to make the food. My sisters refused to cook and I, as the weakest, ended up in the kitchen. I left for boarding school when I was fourteen and I wanted to continue cooking, but there were no kitchens available to students. I got my hands on a rusty, old charcoal grill and started the Mercersburg Grilling Society (Mercersburg being the name of my highschool). I was generally the only person cooking, but events that I organized were socially successful and people began to organize around the grill. I continued organizing social events around grilling and food in college and started a Culinary Theme House. I spent the next couple of years of college cooking for classes, fraternities, philanthropy events and any other social gathering. I have always been deeply invested in food culture; I wanted to see how and why people in other cultures organize around food. Since I enjoyed cooking over an open flame the most, a Watson Fellowship on open-fire cooking seemed like a natural fit.
3. Why did you pick Turkey as one of your stops?
For several reasons. For one, I had heard tremendous things about Turkish food and I knew that it had a long history of cooking Kebabs. Kebabs are very different from the cooking styles that I’ll study elsewhere. That was a big draw for me. Also, Turkey itself is very different from the other countries that I planned on visiting, so I expected a very different cultural experience.
4. Can you tell us about your impressions of Turkish food culture so far?
I must say that Turkish food is unbelievably good. It seems to combine the best of the Northern Mediterranean with the best of the Levant. I think that the food is so good because it reflects Turkey’s diverse people. I have learned that Turkish Nationals come from all over and their food reflects that; Turkey has many kebabs and each seems to hail from a different region. Another thing that I have found interesting is the Turkish appreciation of culinary ascetics. I don’t think I have ordered a meal in Turkey that hasn’t been worthy of a photo. I have also noticed some interesting things about food and gender and the social significance of market life.
5. Where are you off to next and what are your plans there?
After Turkey I will head to South Africa, India, and Vietnam; I will study braai, tandoor, and Vietnamese barbecue in the corresponding countries. In each place I will be looking at the social dynamics related to these cooking styles, giving deference to gender, socioeconomic, and ethnic social currents.
6. You were in Jamaica before this: can you draw a link between Jerk and kebab?
Jamaica and Turkey are radically different places and so are their food cultures. Jerk and kebab are highly sought out by tourists, but they are both enjoyed by the locals as well. Jerk and Kebab are dishes are incredibly simple, yet flavorful. Neither tend to contain very many ingredients, but rely instead on the quality of the ingredients being used.
Socially speaking, it is rare to see a woman preparing jerk or kebab. They seem to be cooking styles that each culture has left to the men and to the men alone.
Finally, they are both popular gathering points. People will frequently gather around jerk and kebabs, but from my experiences, that is part of the magic of open fire cooking.
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