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What do Ian Sansom, Ildefonso Falcones and John Stephens have in common? They are all men, right, and they’re all best-sellers authors, right again. But it’s not enough yet. Together with a brilliant writing style they all share an unexpected love of food: Fine Dining Lovers had a chat – and a meal – with the trio, talking about their eating habits, writing and passions. The result is a series of not-to-miss interviews discovering the foodie side of contemporary literature.
When asked 'if he was a dish, which one would he be?' the highly likeable author of The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens, had no doubt: "If I were a dish, I’d be a nice, juicy piece of fried chicken: excellent for morale, but not exactly healthy", this was revealed in an exclusive interview for Fine Dining Lovers. He also talked about his strong love for food: "I’ll eat anything I can get my hands on! My favourite meal is breakfast: I write in the early morning, so when it’s time for breakfast I’ve already got a few hours’ work behind me and I can’t wait to eat something. If I could, I’d eat breakfast all day long!".
Readers love Ian Sansom, the English (but Ulster based) critic and writer of the Mobile library series, especially for his smart irony. And there is no exception to his wit, even when he's talking about food. When FDL asked him what he associates with the word “book”, he answered "potatoes”. What? Potatoes? " In Ireland, potatoes are the side dish par excellence", he explained in our curious interview: "They go with everything. A book is like a potato – it’s always appropriate, in any situation!". Unlike the character of his books, Israel Armstrong, he’s not vegetarian: "I think that sometimes vegetarians lack a bit of irony: there’s something exhilarating about eating the cute little animals from our childhood books, if you think about it".
Our last foodie writer is the Spanish lawyer, Ildefonso Falcones, author of the novels Cathedral of the Sea and The Hand of Fatima. An authentic Latin man especially when it comes to food: “Like all Latin people, I believe that food is an art, a moment that should be lived to the fullest”, he proclaimed in his FDL interview, “Especially when it comes to pizza. I want pizzzzzza!"
Still craving literature? Don’t miss our touching interview with the author ofPlease Look After Mom, Kyung-Sook Shin. And if you want to travel with your imagination, take a look at our “impossible” interviews and meet some of the most famous crime novel characters ever to grace the page. From Poirot to Nero Wolfe, to the Italian Montalbano and the Spanish Petra Delicado - all interviews with a foodie slant of course - Enjoy!
