Reading Response: "The Reporter's Kitchen", Jane Kramer

            In “The Reporter’s Kitchen”, Jane Kramer describes bits and pieces of her cooking and lifestyle as a journalist. While reading through her response, it brought up different reactions and ideas. One thing I noticed was that she doesn’t share, entirely, her personal life, but rather describes her work life and how it connects to it. I thought this interesting, because from past experience typically journalists and writers discuss how their work is either connected or rooted within their personal life. What I took away from Kramer was in fact the opposite, she connects her cooking and her work and then brings it into her personal life. It was interesting to read when she was describing how if she is in a writer’s block, she cooks differently and her family can tell based off her cooking. She was describing herself making a Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas rib roasts for Easter. Within these few paragraphs she was able to describe how, because of her job and cooking, affected her personal life with her husband and daughter, not so much in a dramatic way but in how she was able to cook. It was interesting, to see how much her job and, as one would call it, passion affect her greatly.

            Another reaction I thought about while reading her piece is how she is able to connect her cooking and work with other ways of life. She described experiences of travelling to different regions and countries where she would learn different dishes and rituals, an example being of the African bride being married off and her experience being present for that, and then take them into account in her cooking. It seemed as if her cooking was more her work, that it is a way for Kramer to be able to “write” through different ingredients and create certain dishes, that she then translated into words and paragraphs for writing. It is fascinating to see the words come to her through cooking, rather than the cooking coming to her through words.

            This piece simply makes me think of how Kramer can cook, and the way she describes her food makes me feel as if I am able to taste it in my mouth. I, for one, cannot cook much, and so to hear about different dishes and ingredients that I have not heard of is not only interesting, but appealing. Kramer is able to take her ‘masterpieces’ of food and describe them in such a way that feel I am reading a list of ingredients off a cookbook. Although she does not necessarily describe her process and other directions, it seems as if I am in the kitchen with her, and I am able to see and I understand how cooking not only affects her writing, but herself as well.

            This piece overall made me think of different ways I can incorporate hobbies and passions into my work. I think it brought into perspective how both food and travel can impact an individual, and how it is able to allow us as people to share not only shared experiences, but ideas and opinions and bring them together to create masterpieces.