Kiosk Konversations // in conversation with Emelyn Rude, founder and editor-in-chief of Eaten Magazine
Delving into the captivating world of culinary heritage, we had the honor of interviewing Emelyn Rude, the founder and editor-in-chief of Eaten magazine. A treasure trove for enthusiasts of food history, Eaten is a meticulously crafted print publication that serves as a window into the past, shedding light on the intricate stories behind the dishes we enjoy today. Three times a year Emelyn publishes a new volume filled with a cornucopia of old recipes, enlightening gastronomic essays, and the fascinating and forgotten tales of the people who have grown, cooked, and enjoyed all things edible over the centuries. In our interview, Emelyn takes us behind the scenes of Eaten's creation, sharing her insights into the magazine's origin, its impact on understanding our culinary heritage, and her personal journey in bringing this remarkable project to life.
“If you don't understand the development of the food system, you're missing an aspect of human economic, social, and cultural life that is central to absolutely everything else.”
– Emelyn Rude, Eaten Magazine
Emelyn, you're the founder and editor-in-chief of Eaten magazine, a publication dedicated to food history, and also author of the book “Tastes like Chicken: A History of America's Favorite Bird”. Could you share a bit about your personal journey and how your passion for food and food history developed?
I love to eat, but I think most people love to eat so that particular passion doesn't make me very exceptional. I think the thing that made me much more curious about the "why" behind eating habits was the fact that I became a vegetarian at age eight. No one else in my family was a vegetarian; I don't think I'd even met another vegetarian when I declared I wasn't going to eat meat any more. Vegetarianism is very hip now but I lived through a large number of years where it decidedly wasn't. As a result, I've spent a lot of my life as the odd eater out and have always been hyper conscious of the food choices that people make. This interest became an academic one when I was an undergraduate tasked with writing a senior thesis . I decided to tackle the pressing issue of why people eat so much chicken today and things started to snowball from there. After I graduated I helped to run restaurants in New York, worked as a freelance food writer, tested recipes, and worked as a pastry cook, amongst a whole hodge-podge of jobs related to food.
What sparked the idea to create Eaten magazine? Especially in this digital era, what attracted you to the concept of a print publication focused on food history?
Eaten came about when I was very broke and living in New York. To make a little extra money I started freelance food writing. I am a huge nerd and all the pieces I wanted to pitch had something to do with history. Unfortunately history is very hard to always relate to current affairs, so it is hard to sell these types of stories to outlets. After a few years of doing this I figured I wasn't the only one who wanted to read more about the history of food so I decided to bring my idea of a publication dedicated solely to this topic to Kickstarter and see what the internet thought of it.
I was attracted to print for a lot of reasons. One was that I saw the content churn of social media and didn't want the stories I was putting all this effort into to get lost in that. Another was that I simply had no idea how online publications make money so I thought it would be more straightforward to sell a physical item. And yet another was the fact that I really like reading things not on a screen; I find I can remember things better and feel I have more space to ruminate on what the articles are trying to say. Basically, I am happier off the internet than on and so never really considered making anything other than a physical magazine.
You launched Eaten through Kickstarter. What challenges did you encounter in bringing Eaten to life, and how did you navigate and overcome them?
The main challenge in the beginning was that I had no idea what I was doing. I certainly had writing experience but I had never worked in a magazine or in publishing before, so figuring out things like design and printing and packing and distribution and marketing was something I had to do from scratch. I can't say I had a strategy for dealing with my complete lack of knowledge at the time. All I really remember doing was looking at other magazines and their websites and then blindly sending a million emails to anyone and everyone I thought was relevant. I definitely made a lot of mistakes but I learned how to run a little publication mainly by pretending I knew how to run a little publication and seeing what happened as a result.
The other big issue was financing the thing long term. I think this is something that many other independent magazine producers can attest to, but keeping a print publication solvent is a difficult task, particularly at the beginning when no one has heard of you. It was really helpful that I had another job at the time (as a graduate student), so I didn't need to rely on Eaten as my main source of income. Again, I did the "email anyone I've ever met" strategy and was also very creative in juggling bills according to when I had cash to pay them. Eventually things stabilized and I no longer have to micromanage every single cent to keep this magazine running but finances are still something I keep constant vigilance over.
Currently working as food historian in research in the UK, how do you perceive food history enriching our understanding of cultures and societies?
I'm actually now working as a food historian in France (as a post-doctoral fellow at Sciences Po in Paris), so I've shaken things up a bit! Everybody needs to eat and food systems (the networks that bring our food from farm to table) are central to the functioning of all societies, both past and present. Yes, the history of politics is sexy and historians can bang on endlessly about royal families or wars or famous men with mustaches, but if you don't understand the development of the food system, you're missing an aspect of human economic, social, and cultural life that is central to absolutely everything else.
What impact do you envision Eaten having on its readers and the broader culinary world?
I hope firstly people enjoy what they are reading. After that goal is met I hope that Eaten's readers learn something. If they have a copy of Eaten, they already know that food is much more than just a list of the top ten places you can get fried chicken near you. I hope that my magazine helps keep them interested and inspired in learning more about the foods that they eat (or don't eat) every day.
How do you curate the content for each issue of Eaten and how do you gather, for example, all these exquisite vintage images for the magazine? We're consistently amazed by the stunning beauty of each issue – it's like a work of art.
That's very lovely to hear. I'm glad all my efforts are evident!
Everything starts with a theme, like vegetables or surf & turf. From there I send out a call for pitches, sift through the responses, and pick eight to ten articles that I feel really embody the theme. The articles not only have to be good but together they all have to create a nice balance of time period, geography, and subject matter. (Unfortunately I have to say no to a lot of great ideas for the sake of this balance.) After I've settled on the stories, that's when I look for visuals, which is a process that can be either incredibly fun or a huge pain depending on the piece.
There are a lot of public domain archives online - wikimedia commons is probably the one most people are familiar with but many universities and libraries have their own as well - and these are typically my starting place. Sometimes I can find beautiful images relating directly to the subject and my job is done. Other times, I have to get more creative with what's available. For example there was a piece on baby carrots in the last edition. Unfortunately there are no beautiful portraits of baby carrots in the public domain, but there are plenty of paintings of babies and plenty of illustrations of carrots so I decided to photoshop the two together. Easy peasy!
In a few cases, particularly when the piece talks about a subject that is not Western or has not been widely discussed in the Western world, I have to commission custom illustrations. This lack of diversity in public domain imagery is an issue that largely stems from the fact that I personally only speak European languages, which means I'm not as familiar with archives from other parts of the world, and also by the fact that the historical record is undeniably dominated by European sources. The first I try to resolve by asking contributors or other experts for hints on where I can find images; the second I unfortunately can do nothing about.
Your website mentions collaborating with “journalists, historians, and gastronomers eager to celebrate the past and present of what we eat” for each issue. How do you assemble this diverse team for every edition? How do you discover these passionate individuals from around the globe?
I am lucky in that most of my contributors seem to find me. I have a link on the Eaten website where people can sign up for the magazine's editorial newsletter and get the calls for pitches for each new edition. I don't know how people found this link but at the moment there are over 1,500 writers on this list so when I send out calls for pitches I always get flooded with hundreds of amazing story ideas. Turns out there are people that are really into food history too!
I am also an academic and obviously read lots of academic work on food, so sometimes if I know of a scholar or writer whose work I feel would make a great fit for a given edition I will reach out to them directly.
Are there specific eras or cultures that particularly intrigue you in the realm of food history?
I approach food history from two angles. Eaten is the fun one and when I'm working on a magazine I really just want to learn something new myself, so I'm really open to whatever story ideas the universe decides to send me. I've read a whole lot of literature in this field so if a story makes me say "aha that's interesting," it will probably be interesting to people who aren't so immersed in food history so I'm probably going to publish it.
My academic research is much more straight-laced, as I focus on the environmental and economic history of the American food system. If my research is any indication, the facet of food history that I am most obsessed with is livestock production systems in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This topic is clearly much less glamorous than the weed brownies and lavish feasts that make their way into Eaten, but I think it is an interesting and important topic nonetheless.
What is your vision for the future of Eaten, and what exciting developments can readers anticipate?
At the moment I am trying to revamp the website, which I probably find more exciting than anyone else on this planet. I am also in the process of putting together a cookbook, which should be out next year!
Do you also manage to explore and enjoy other indie food magazines crafted by your fellow editors? If so, which ones are your favorites?
Yes, one of my favorite activities! The one indie magazine I am always subscribed to is Noble Rot; I am very into wine and appreciate their irreverent (although still very expensive) takes on wine. Outside of food publications, I try to grab a copy of Apartamento or The Gentlewoman whenever I see them in a shop. I also generally just try to read everything, independent or not, in print if possible. I subscribe to The Atlantic and also love getting myself an actual print newspaper on the weekends. It forces me to read so many things I wouldn't have clicked on and it's also fun to shuffle all the pages around and feel like the most erudite person in the whole of my living room.
More on Eaten: website | Instagram
photo credit: © Kate Peters
Eaten issues available at Ferment Kiosk:
