The Whole Food Almanac is a directory of healthy food in and around Cape Town, and the people who sell and make it. Suite 101 spoke to the author, journalist and ex publisher, Michelle Matthews.
How did the Whole Food Almanac begin?
I was getting into freelancing and to get my name back out in the writing world I wrote a free article for a friend who works on a local newspaper about a food market. A publisher who I had once worked with saw it and it just so happened that he was looking for someone to write a book on fresh, healthy, artisan, local foods. He asked whether I was available and I jumped at the chance!
How did you research the Information?
It took me about a month to put together my initial list of people to contact - I had over 300 of them. In the end, the book consists of about 230 individual entries. Each one consists of a description of a product or place, often a mini-interview with the producer, contact details and, where relevant, organic certification details.
How long did the writing process take?
The whole process, from commission to submission, took about four months. I was doing other work at the same time, but the book was definitely the priority.
The part I least enjoyed was fact-checking the minutia of the entries (“are you open until 2pm or 3pm on Saturdays?” etc) I actually ended up hiring a young assistant to help me confirm the bits and pieces, which was a good idea. It left me free to focus more on the parts I liked so that, although the book is a directory, I actually had fun doing it!
What have you done to promote your book?
I've got a blog where I talk about food and sustainability. I've had three or four radio interviews and a television interview. I've also done quite a few talks at bookshops and companies - I even did a couple of cooking demonstrations at the Natural and Organics Show.
What did you learn by writing the Whole Food Almanac?
I was a publisher for four years and I learned what the other side of the process is like. It takes a lot of focus to complete a book. Parts of the process are not fun at all, but the result is immensely rewarding.
Happily, I also learned that the subject matter was even more compelling to me than I initially thought, and I'm writing and studying more on the subject of food and sustainability. I'm very passionate about the issues.
I have been left with a greater respect for the people who care about growing and making us nutritious, safe and tasty food. I hope that the book keeps going well – it would be a dream to work on further editions and to grow a career around researching and writing about sustainable food, artisan production and healthy eating.
Interested in writing a Gardening Book? Read the interview with Jane Griffiths, author of Jane's Delicious Garden.
