What do you think?
Rate this book
Dark Mountain #23
Dark Mountain Issue 23: Spring 2023
Our twenty third book is a feast of stories, poetry and artwork that explore food culture in a time of converging ecological crises – from the devouring agricultural machine to the restorative fermenting jar.
Dark Kitchen is based on our online series that set out to document the regenerative acts of resistance happening in kitchens and fields around the world. In this book, we taste the sweet and salt, the sour and the bitter. We look deep into the belly of the beast: into the factories of ultra-processed food; into the slaughterhouse knocker box; at starvation on the Arctic sea ice; in an elite dining room where endangered animals are on the menu.
But among the clatter of our pans, we also remember the connections that nourish the living world: the wild salmon of the Atlantic and Pacific that feed the forests; the seaweed that creates a garden on a Hebridean island; the microbes that link the wild yeasts in Montana to the whiskered wheat of East Anglia to the sourdough loaves that feed a locked-down hill community in Australia. Food that makes sense of everything, even as the civilised world falls apart.
With recipes and reportage, poetry and production techniques, gathering and gleaning, myths and metaphysics – do join us around our convivial kitchen table!
Writers: Robert Alcock, Augustin of the Road, Simeon Ayres, John Barron, Antonia Bertucci, Chris Christou, Kimberley Coburn, Charlotte Du Cann, Charlotte McGuin Freeman, Ben Gibbons, Randall Jason Green, Dougald Hine, Max Jones, Daniela Kato, David Lauer, Thomas Little, Kate Long, James Macconachie, Matt Miles, Gregory Norminton, Rob Percival, Kate Rich, Kim Schnuelle, Mark Watson, Hanna Charlotta Wernerssen, Matthew West, Adam Weymouth, Miek Zwambourn.
Poets: Sharon Black, Sean Borrowdale, Gaylord Brewer, Nickole Brown, Nancy Campbell, Giles Goodland, Mark Goodwin, Emily Hasler, Michael McLane.
Artists: Jo Aris, Eva Bakkeslett, Pascal Baudar, Monique Besten, Peter Cameron, Anne Campbell, Cooking Sections, Max Jones, Nick Jordan, David Lauer, Ava Osbiston, Superflux, Graeme Walker, Miek Zwambourn.
Editor cooks: Nancy Campbell, Charlotte Du Cann, Nick Hunt. Art editor: Charlotte Du Cann. Production and editorial assistant: Ava Osbiston.
Cover: Metate, Mano y Maíz Azul (Mortar, Pestle and Blue Maize) by David Lauer
Dark Kitchen is based on our online series that set out to document the regenerative acts of resistance happening in kitchens and fields around the world. In this book, we taste the sweet and salt, the sour and the bitter. We look deep into the belly of the beast: into the factories of ultra-processed food; into the slaughterhouse knocker box; at starvation on the Arctic sea ice; in an elite dining room where endangered animals are on the menu.
But among the clatter of our pans, we also remember the connections that nourish the living world: the wild salmon of the Atlantic and Pacific that feed the forests; the seaweed that creates a garden on a Hebridean island; the microbes that link the wild yeasts in Montana to the whiskered wheat of East Anglia to the sourdough loaves that feed a locked-down hill community in Australia. Food that makes sense of everything, even as the civilised world falls apart.
With recipes and reportage, poetry and production techniques, gathering and gleaning, myths and metaphysics – do join us around our convivial kitchen table!
Writers: Robert Alcock, Augustin of the Road, Simeon Ayres, John Barron, Antonia Bertucci, Chris Christou, Kimberley Coburn, Charlotte Du Cann, Charlotte McGuin Freeman, Ben Gibbons, Randall Jason Green, Dougald Hine, Max Jones, Daniela Kato, David Lauer, Thomas Little, Kate Long, James Macconachie, Matt Miles, Gregory Norminton, Rob Percival, Kate Rich, Kim Schnuelle, Mark Watson, Hanna Charlotta Wernerssen, Matthew West, Adam Weymouth, Miek Zwambourn.
Poets: Sharon Black, Sean Borrowdale, Gaylord Brewer, Nickole Brown, Nancy Campbell, Giles Goodland, Mark Goodwin, Emily Hasler, Michael McLane.
Artists: Jo Aris, Eva Bakkeslett, Pascal Baudar, Monique Besten, Peter Cameron, Anne Campbell, Cooking Sections, Max Jones, Nick Jordan, David Lauer, Ava Osbiston, Superflux, Graeme Walker, Miek Zwambourn.
Editor cooks: Nancy Campbell, Charlotte Du Cann, Nick Hunt. Art editor: Charlotte Du Cann. Production and editorial assistant: Ava Osbiston.
Cover: Metate, Mano y Maíz Azul (Mortar, Pestle and Blue Maize) by David Lauer
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2023
6 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Campbell
57 books22 followersNancy Campbell is the editress of ABOVE RUBIES, a magazine devoted to bringing strength and encouragement to women in their roles as wives and mothers. Printed since 1977, ABOVE RUBIES serves as a lifeline to marriages and families all around the globe.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 25, 2025
I have yet to read an issue from The Dark Mountain Project that I didn't like, but this "Dark Kitchen" collection in particular was excellent. The focus of this issue is our damaged relationship with food and food systems, and the ways in which we might go about repairing (at least some of) that damage. Legitimately inspiring and grounding in a world that grows more insane with each passing day.
I loved the inclusion of all the different recipes in this issue, and want to give a few of them a try sometime! Honestly, the biggest indicator to me that this book is a resounding success is that it made me want to attempt baking...
I loved the inclusion of all the different recipes in this issue, and want to give a few of them a try sometime! Honestly, the biggest indicator to me that this book is a resounding success is that it made me want to attempt baking...
Displaying 1 of 1 review