A collection about fiction and food from a Filipino publisher. Includes short stories written by Shirlie Mae Mamaril Choe, Susan Evangelista, Alfred Yuson, etc.
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is an award-winning author and editor of over twenty books. She has written three novels: WHEN THE RAINBOW GODDESS WEPT, MAGDALENA, and THE NEWSPAPER WIDOW. Her SELECTED SHORT STORIES BY CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD won the 40th National Book Award and the Cirilo F. Bautista Prize.
She has taught at UCLA, USC, the California State Summer School for the Arts, and the Writers Program at USCL Extension. She has served as an Executive Board Member and Officer of PEN, PAAWWW (Pacific Asian American Women Writers West), Arts & Letters at the Cal State University LA, PAWWA (Philippine American Writers and Artists), among others. She also founded Philippine American Literary House. (Source Wikipedia)
A La Carte is the winner of the prestigious Gourmand Award 2008 as the Best Food Literature Book from the Philippines.
"A menu of stories to suit your every craving! That’s A la Carte: Food & Fiction. This book fills a hunger in Philippine literature for fantasy, hyper-reality, romance, mystery … but with a good measure of culinary flavoring mixed in."
Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, culinary heritage advocate and writer
"Here is a book guaranteed to satisfy even the most discriminating taste, but also to make readers hungry for more stories, characters, insights, and recipes. Fact, fiction, fantasy, and food mix in a feast for the mind, the heart, the palate, and the soul. There are many well-known writers in the anthology, but it is not so much who writes as what is written that makes this book a must-read, just as it is not so much the chef or the cook that makes a recipe to die for, but the dish itself. Enjoy the 25-course banquet."
Isagani R. Cruz, The Philippine Star
"Books on food are quite popular these days and we are glad that recent publications have gone beyond mere recipes to evoke what Proust called a ‘remembrance of things past.’ "
Ambeth R. Ocampo Chairman, National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chairman, National Historical Institute
There is not much Filipino anthologies of "food in fiction" so this is a good start. There are really good pieces such as those of Dean Francis Alfar's and Ian Rosales Casocot's. Some however lack gravitas or are simply half-baked.
I hope more anthologies like this get published. Filipino cuisine is a very interesting topic for fiction.