Food & Faith
Shoba Narayan divides her time between her home town in south India and the United States — where she studied and worked for many years — and she easily straddles the two worlds through her passion for food. Her essay “God of Small Feasts” not only won a James Beard Award in 2001 but also convinced her family to let her continue her studies in the United States. "Food & Faith: A Pilgrim’s Journey Through India" is Narayan’s fifth book, in which she seeks the answer to how food can sustain us spiritually. Written in her chatty and self-deprecating style, Narayan travels around India and visits temples, mosques, synagogues, and gurdwaras to partake of sacred foods and temple cuisine. Finding commonalities among the many different approaches and rituals, she shows how food should nourish body and soul alike. And that is a practice worthy of adherence, whatever one’s faith or tradition.
DIALOGUE | Q&A with Shoba Narayan
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The Benefits
Shoba Narayan explains how:
- Seasonal and fresh produce bring balance and harmony to sacred cuisines
- Multi-faiths across India offer blessed foods that are nutritious
- The key aspect of sacred cuisine is nourishment with healthy ingredients
