Why I love Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Why I love this series (or, at least, a few of the many, many reasons):

1. The food! Every mouth-watering, eye-popping, decadent ingredient and dish. From the planning, harvesting, and shopping, through the savoring of each bite, this show is a full-on love affair with food. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a show that made me want to leap up and run to the kitchen – and in a good way, because I felt so darn excited to play and eat.
2. The host, Samin Nosrat. Really, she makes the show, especially her open, unapologetic love for food. When have you last felt moved to tears…by cheese (as she was, in the first episode)? I know I’ve had such food experiences (and I dearly hope you have – and if not, that’s part of our aim in the SAVOR program).
3. The centering of women, especially women of color – it was incredibly inspiring (and about time!) to see a chef and food writer who is a woman – and not just any woman, but a beautiful, curvy Persian-American woman from Iran.  And, throughout every episode, she intentionally includes an exploration of the culture and history surrounding each dish, and repeatedly features women as sources of culinary wisdom and skill. Representation matters! Enough said.

Samin challenges some of our society’s rules about food (especially how we’re allowed to eat it), and invites us to participate in a full-bodied, sensual culinary adventure. If you haven’t checked out Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat yet, I’d highly recommend it!