Jello-O Abusers & Nicey-Nice Lady Food Journalists
Caption: Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times food editor Jeanne Voltz
In his classic book about food history, The United States of Arugula, David Kamp described the newspaper food editors as “Jello-O abusers” and as “nicey-nice lady food journalists.” There were certainly some editors who did fit the description of nice. The St. Petersburg Times’ Ruth Gray, for example, felt so badly about writing a negative restaurant review that she would leave town for a few days after it was published.
Yet other editors were not quite so concerned about kindness. Brownstone said about herself: “Someone told me I was bitchy. I could be bitchy occasionally.” Charlotte Observer food editor Kathleen Purvis wrote admiringly: “Voltz wasn’t valued for her sweetness. Her flavor was pepper and vinegar.”
If the food editors were an overtly nice group, it was likely true as they needed to make a connection to their readers. Or it might be that in comparison to the battles within the New York City Food Establishment, the other newspaper food editors seemed quite friendly. Nora Ephron quoted James Beard about a 1968 Cookbook Guild gathering in New York City: “You could barely move around at that party for fear someone would bite you in the back.”
Yet, when these female food editors came under attack in 1971, they were ready to fight. Read more about it in my book, The Food Section.
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