JACKSON, Wyo. — A joint endeavor between Central Wyoming College (CWC) and Jackson Hole Writers (JHW) brought community members to the table for a classroom session about food writing and an evening of open-mic sharing and food tasting.
“Written Foods, Eaten Words” took place last week and was billed as a unique culinary writing and tasting experience. The ticketed event sprang from a friendship between JHW Executive Director Matt Daly and CWC Hospitality and Culinary Program Director Justin Stone. With offices just down the hall from one another in Center for the Arts, the two have been brainstorming for a while about a collaborative community event.
“I really loved this event,” Daly told Buckrail. “It was a vision for a really long time [with] Justin at CWC. And to have something happen that wasn’t what we imagined, but was so fun, and really full of writing — I think that the way people came together tonight, around good words and food and community, you can feel how necessary it is. … Individuals and organizations and businesses, lots of people are really interested in feeding the community, and I feel like that’s what happened here tonight.”
The Thursday morning classroom session centered around two local culinary personalities who discussed their relationship to food and writing, read some excerpts of their work, answered questions, and provided a writing prompt for the class. CWC students and community members filled the classroom, and coffee and bagels were provided. Jason Mitchell, a private chef with his own KHOL radio segment, used to be the chef for a governor of Minnesota. He read an excerpt from a novel he is working to publish, which features a chef as the main character. Reed Mattison is a chef, photographer and food writer originally from Kentucky. He shared a short essay in which he wove together tales from his childhood with key themes about the American food system, all wrapped up with a dash of humor.
The open-mic and tasting was hosted on Friday evening in the Cache House hostel and food was provided by Glorietta Trattoria. Paper coasters with prompts for six-word stories were tucked between boards of cured meats, cheese and olives. Scratch paper and pens were readily available for those suddenly struck with inspiration. While people chatted and sipped Lambrusco, Daly announced writing prompts from the microphone for anyone wanting to partake.
After a dinner of Caesar salad, short ribs and polenta, Daly kicked off the open-mic portion. With a crowd of 40 to 50 people in the cozy space, a number took the opportunity to take the microphone and read their own food writing. A soup pot stocked with slips of paper containing bits of culinary prose was available for anyone who wanted to read but not write. For dessert, Glorietta wowed with its classic tiramisu.
As CWC gears up to move into its new campus on High School Road, Daly and Stone will continue to look for ways to collaborate and make spaces for the community to share words and food. JHW’s Everybody Writes series will return in May with “Writing our Wild: Travel, Place and Personal Story” with Anne Marie Wells.
