Speaking With...

'Cooking is what makes us human'. Flickr Ruth Reichl MWF Ruth Reichl, the former restaurant critic of The New York Times and author of best-selling gourmet memoirs Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples, is known for describing, in vivid detail, how food can define us. While in Australia this week, to discuss her first novel Delicious! at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, Reichl talks with food researcher Isabelle de Solier about why food really matters, the social contract of inviting people to dinner, “industrial food” and the importance of getting people back into the kitchen. Ruth Reichl will be appearing at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August. Details here. Read more coverage of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. Listen to other podcast episodes here. Full transcript Isabelle de Solier (IDS): My name is Isabelle de Solier and welcome to The Conversation podcast. I’m speakin