Author and Food Network Star Jessica Tom on Her Culinary Novel #FoodWhore

Author, cook, and Food Network personality Jess Tom

For this episode I’m excited to be joined by author and cook Jessica Tom for a conversation on food fiction. Tom is the author of the novel Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit, set in the cutthroat restaurant world of New York City. She has also been a recurring presence on Food Network, including winning Food Network Star in 2018. Tom’s website jessicatom.com is a wealth of both recipes and writing advice, so in the spirit of cooking I’m going to change up my interview format a bit and prepare one of her dishes in the process. With me again is my friend and cohost Lauren McCrimmon, and we will be making Tom’s coconut peach resin pudding with mango. If you’d like to try it yourself, you can find the recipe here. I will note that, since this show was recorded in my kitchen and not in my usual recording space, it might sound slightly different from listeners are used to. We got the louder things like blending out of the way first, but you will hear some ambient sounds of the pudding-making process as we discuss the intersections of both writing and food culture.

How did Tom navigate the long road to publishing her first novel? How has winning Food Network Star shaped her career as both a chef and an author? And what exactly is a food whore? We’ll dig into these questions, and a terrific summer dessert, in this special food-themed episode of The Plot.

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Twitter: @Jessica_Tom
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Peach resin, pre-pudding (food photos: Lauren McCrimmon)

Coconut peach resin pudding with mango