Eating On the Job: Gastronomy From the Front Line

Veteran conflict reporter Matt McAllester says there’s not much to be said for war. Except, that is, the food and time spent sharing it with friends.

The observation kicked off the OPC’s latest book night and soon brought about merry bouts of culinary story-swapping at Club Quarters on January 4.

The gathering came to toast the publication of the book Eating Mud Crabs in Kandahar, a collection of foreign correspondents’ tales, edited by McAllester, of eating in extreme situations.

In the title story, Christina Lamb recounts her experience sharing a bite in a foxhole with a then-young Hamid Karzai. Other episodes feature Scott Anderson drinking his way to the heart of the IRA and Barbara Demick showing that even deranged dictators have sophisticated palates.

In a moving reading, Global Post founder Charles Sennott spoke of an intersection of war, family and food that took place at the outset of the second intifada. In the holy land, Sennott and his pregnant wife smelled burning tires and cordite mingled with softer scents of seasoned lamb, olives and warm Palestinian bread. The food brought physical and moral sustenance and, years later, its recollection gave strength when Sennott feared for the life of that young son.

The book and the gathering revealed that the food foreign reporters eat is as diverse as the countries they visit. But there is something universal, and often joyful, about their memories of sharing it.

This was apparent from the cheerful open mic session at Club Quarters where Thanassis Cambanis reported taking a break from the Israel-Lebanon war to join McAllester for martinis and pickles at sunset.

In his turn at the mic, NPR’s Adam Davidson described offering a U.S. military “Meal, Ready to Eat” to an astonished Iraqi. The man found the army meal delicious and told Davidson that dropping MREs would have been a more effective tactic than leaflets in inducing surrender.

The evening also included the requisite gross-out moments. These were topped by Bill Holstein’s penis-on-a-plate tale from China and Allan Dodds Frank’s experience with Eskimo muktuk — a “crisco-covered innertube.”

The gathering soon adjourned for more civilized fare — a generous meat and cheese spread supplied by an anonymous OPC board officer.