Meet Lucy Knisley
Relish is a graphic memoir, so if you read it you will find out a lot about Lucy's life. If you want to find out more than what is contained in the book--like her education background, what she's up to now, etc.--you can check out her website.
Lucy was brought up around food. Her mother is a chef, and her father, although not a chef, appreciates fine food and exquisite dining. Lucy's uncle owned a small gourmet food store in Manhattan during the NYC foodie boom in the 1980s. She grew up eating poached salmon in cream sauce, throwing back shots of Kressi vinegar with her dad, and playing in the kitchens of New York restaurants as her mother prepared flower arrangements and daily specials. (By "playing" I mean getting free leftovers of some of the world's greatest delicacies.)
After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to the New York countryside. Even though she missed NYC terribly at first, this is where she became truly ensconced in the food world. Her mother worked for organic farms, did catering for special local events, and as she grew older, she was constantly by her mother's side, working at the farmer's markets. She took adventures with her mother and father growing up, traveling to Rome, Mexico, Paris, Canada, and all the while sampling the world's finest, freshest cuisines. But, try as they might, her parents couldn't deter Lucy's cravings for...JUNK FOOD. McDonald's, sugary cereals, Cheetos, Kool-Aid...she loved it all! Unlike her parents, Lucy didn't discriminate: she appreciated the world's finest foods, as well as the world's crappiest. Lucy believes if it tastes good to you, it is definitely worth eating.
Lucy moved to Chicago to pursue a degree in her other love, art. Try as he might, her father, a literary man of classic standards, could not deter Lucy from comics. Lucy loved reading and stories, and she also loved drawing and art. Comics brought the two together perfectly. She has her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she has her MFA from The Center for Cartoon Studies. Her first graphic memoir, French Milk, was published in 2008. In addition to illustrating the stories of her life, she creates illustrations for anthologies, comics for the likes of Marvel and Valiant, and she is an illustrator for hire. (And, believe you me, I am trying to figure out what to hire her for right now as I type this.) After moving back to New York for a time after earning her MFA (to be closer to her mother's cooking), she is back living in Chicago with her husband and their cat.
Lucy was brought up around food. Her mother is a chef, and her father, although not a chef, appreciates fine food and exquisite dining. Lucy's uncle owned a small gourmet food store in Manhattan during the NYC foodie boom in the 1980s. She grew up eating poached salmon in cream sauce, throwing back shots of Kressi vinegar with her dad, and playing in the kitchens of New York restaurants as her mother prepared flower arrangements and daily specials. (By "playing" I mean getting free leftovers of some of the world's greatest delicacies.)
After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to the New York countryside. Even though she missed NYC terribly at first, this is where she became truly ensconced in the food world. Her mother worked for organic farms, did catering for special local events, and as she grew older, she was constantly by her mother's side, working at the farmer's markets. She took adventures with her mother and father growing up, traveling to Rome, Mexico, Paris, Canada, and all the while sampling the world's finest, freshest cuisines. But, try as they might, her parents couldn't deter Lucy's cravings for...JUNK FOOD. McDonald's, sugary cereals, Cheetos, Kool-Aid...she loved it all! Unlike her parents, Lucy didn't discriminate: she appreciated the world's finest foods, as well as the world's crappiest. Lucy believes if it tastes good to you, it is definitely worth eating.
Lucy moved to Chicago to pursue a degree in her other love, art. Try as he might, her father, a literary man of classic standards, could not deter Lucy from comics. Lucy loved reading and stories, and she also loved drawing and art. Comics brought the two together perfectly. She has her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she has her MFA from The Center for Cartoon Studies. Her first graphic memoir, French Milk, was published in 2008. In addition to illustrating the stories of her life, she creates illustrations for anthologies, comics for the likes of Marvel and Valiant, and she is an illustrator for hire. (And, believe you me, I am trying to figure out what to hire her for right now as I type this.) After moving back to New York for a time after earning her MFA (to be closer to her mother's cooking), she is back living in Chicago with her husband and their cat.
Relish's Genre
Relish combines my two favorite types of writing--memoir and cooking--with my newest favorite form--graphic novel. I love to read stories about people's lives. Not in a creepy, gossipy sort of way, but because I love to hear about the experiences of others and what they've learned from them. I feel personal memoirs can be a window into experiences I might not have the opportunity to have in my life. My obsession with food and cooking started at a very young age, when I discovered the weekend cooking shows on my local PBS affiliate. I would spend hours each weekend watching the likes of the Galloping Gourmet, Julia Child, and Jacques Pepin take seemingly disparate food stuffs and create something grand and wonderful and mouth watering. When I discovered food memoirs, like Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone and Julie Powell's Julie & Julia I almost fainted from pure joy. These wonderful women were not only sharing experiences but they were using food, the pleasure (and sometimes frustration) of cooking, and the importance of personal relationships to relate their stories. My love and ardent adoration for the graphic novel form has steadily increased since I read my first graphic novel, Art Spiegelman's Maus, over a decade ago. To find a graphic novel that is a memoir which includes experiences with food is probably the best thing that has happened to me so far this year.
Lucy Knisley deftly weaves together her foodie upbringing with simple, bright illustrations. At the end of each chapter she includes a recipe of note from that chapter, and she also illustrates these recipes. So...not only does she talk about her life, describe delicious, mouth watering food, and make all of this pop to life with her vibrant illustrations, she ALSO includes recipes for you to try. If there were more graphic novel food memoirs out there, I don't think I'd buy anything else. However, all of this information oversimplifies the understated elegance of Knisley's memoir. Her memoir is one of true love: true love for her mother, who taught her about food, and true love for the experiences with food she's had. At the heart of Knisley's graphic novel is her appreciation for food and the way it brings people together. From her mother's grand Easter potlucks with friends and family to her explorations of the winding alleys of Mexico discovering succulent street food with her best friend, Dean, to the disaster that was Lemonade Chicken, prepared for her by a college friend...good, bad, and everything in between, food is the thing of memories that last forever.
Lucy Knisley deftly weaves together her foodie upbringing with simple, bright illustrations. At the end of each chapter she includes a recipe of note from that chapter, and she also illustrates these recipes. So...not only does she talk about her life, describe delicious, mouth watering food, and make all of this pop to life with her vibrant illustrations, she ALSO includes recipes for you to try. If there were more graphic novel food memoirs out there, I don't think I'd buy anything else. However, all of this information oversimplifies the understated elegance of Knisley's memoir. Her memoir is one of true love: true love for her mother, who taught her about food, and true love for the experiences with food she's had. At the heart of Knisley's graphic novel is her appreciation for food and the way it brings people together. From her mother's grand Easter potlucks with friends and family to her explorations of the winding alleys of Mexico discovering succulent street food with her best friend, Dean, to the disaster that was Lemonade Chicken, prepared for her by a college friend...good, bad, and everything in between, food is the thing of memories that last forever.