Forking Seattle

Tales of Local Food and Drink, from Farm to Table to Landfill

For those of you who know or know of Ronald Holden, you know he always has a Seattle culinary story on hand. And they're always interesting. That's because a) he's an interesting guy, and b) he's worked for 40 years as a reporter and editor for print, broadcast, and online media. If he didn't have a few tales after 40 years, we'd be checking him into memory rehab!

Forking Seattle is full of anecdotes and the story behind the story. Did you know that Howard Schultz was not the real founder of Starbucks? Or that Chateau Ste. Michelle was created by an investment analyst at Safeco Insurance and that Safeco passed on the idea? Or that curbside recycling was invented in Seattle as a fundraiser for the Fremont Fair? If you love the Northwest and are into food and beverage, you'll find this book fascinating.

Ronald breaks the book into manageable sections:

From Land to Sea

Where does our food come from? Who has moved us along so we handle and process it in a way that maintains its texture, flavor, and value? Should we focus our eating on smaller fish and animals, allowing those larger and more popular to come back from the brink? So many good questions. Read about fish, meat, oysters, fruit, grain in our state.

To Market, To Market!

Once off the farm or out of the water, these stories tell who is moving product, how and where, including stories of Pike Place Market and businesses/stores you may not be aware of that sell wild game, seafood, pasta, and specialty items. Learn about the people behind the scenes.

Food Artisans

Seattle is full of independent artisans who take products to a new and better level, including bagels, popcorn, chicken, pickles, salt and pepper, caviar, snacks, charcuterie. Find out about bee keepers, foragers, cheesemakers and sellers, pastries and chocolate.

Let's Eat!

For foodies, this may be the chapter: restaurants past and present and the people behind them. Families, independents, companies that have grown and accumulated concepts over the years. Read them all, then go try them!

Hey, I'll Drink to That!

History and current goings-on in the beer, wine, and spirits world. Learn about Seattle's well-known and less-known bartenders. Coffee, tea, juice, flavored waters. No liquid left behind.

Clearing the Table

Feeding a city takes a lot of food and afterward, a lot of clean-up. This chapter deals with how we re-use, recycle and create something new from what we have previously considered waste. Pretty amazing what people come up with.

Feeding Back

Culinary organizations, companies that get you into restaurants using their apps, point of sale systems, cookbook authors, recipe sites, online food sites (yes, Seattle DINING! is mentioned), classes and tours, and philanthropic types.

Ronald doesn't hold his opinions back in this book, pleasant or harsh. At the end, he lets loose on the people he feels have done damage to the industry, particular restaurants, and maybe the city. Surprisingly, it's kind of refreshing. Most people won't go negative (we're generally a pretty nice bunch), but sometimes it's good to clear the air. He does.

Agree with his opinions or not, Ronald's book is a really interesting look at the city's food from start to finish.

Connie Adams/October 2016

Forking Seattle can be purchased at Amazon, http://amzn.to/2cr2RwJ, or for the Kindle download, http://amzn.to/2cJapgf

Ronald writes a monthly column for Seattle DINING!