Bookmark This is a feature that highlights new books by College of Arts and Sciences faculty and alumni, published each month. The October featured book is Truffles and Trash: Recirculating Food in a Social Welfare State (UNC Press) by Kelly Alexander.
Q: Can you give us a brief synopsis of your book?
A: Truffles & Trash traces the evolution of my six years of research on food waste in Brussels, Belgium. It begins with my time on the line in a Michelin two-star truffle restaurant, making foie gras terrine, and culminates in my work peeling zucchini in a zero-food waste pop-up kitchen located in the city’s oldest meat market. Along the way, I immersed myself in food waste policy, met an incredible array of grassroots activists, chefs and high-level food policymakers —including those in the EU Health Minister’s office — and cooked countless meals for diners ranging from those in temples of haute cuisine to migrants from Africa seeking visas while sleeping in public parks.
What I want readers to consider is how we in the U.S. might rethink food waste policies by focusing on collaborative social networks and state-supported recuperation efforts, as I observed in Brussels — approaches that have proven highly effective. This book tells the story of a different way forward, one that moves away from the prevailing narrative of blaming consumers for throwing away too much food and toward more systemic, community-driven solutions.
Q: How does this fit in with your research interests and passions?
A: I’m often described as a food writer, but I think I’m exploring the attachments we have to what we eat. I’ve covered a wide range of topics, from Fiestaware collectors and politicians who manipulate food imagery to enhance their populist images, to the pioneering food journalist Clementine Paddleford, who obsessively chronicled American regional foodways in the 1950s and ’60s. Before I even got to Brussels, I had been observing a surge of energy around reducing food waste — I refer to it as “moral panic” in the book. When I got to Brussels, I started noticing all these innovative collaborations between policymakers and grassroots activists working to recirculate edible but unsellable food. This kind of obsessive energy surrounding these initiatives resonated with me and drew me into the subject.
Q: What was the original idea that made you think: “There’s a book here?”
A: It all began when I pleaded with Luigi Ciciriello, the owner of the outstanding Michelin two-star restaurant La Truffe Noire in Brussels, to allow me to work as a stagiaire in his kitchen. My initial idea was to explore how a lowly spore on a tuber — technically what a truffle is, despite common misconceptions of it being a mushroom — has become one of the most expensive and sought-after ingredients in the world.
However, once he agreed and I began working in the kitchen, I couldn’t take my eyes off the garbage can. I had never considered how much beautiful food is sacrificed on the altar of aesthetic perfection in fine dining, but that became obvious when I stopped to think about it. As I looked at that overflowing garbage can, though, filled with perfectly delicious day-old bread and imperfect but luscious strawberries, my focus radically shifted. I started exploring how Brussels manages its food waste, discovering a bottom-up approach that differs significantly from the U.S. My curiosity grew, and I found myself leaning in and wanting to learn as much as I could — to visit a produce auction, to explore food banks, and so much more.
Q: What surprised you when researching/writing this book?
A: What surprised me was how deeply I had to dive into the history of the Belgian government to understand why and how so many food waste initiatives were thriving in Brussels. While it’s often described in the international press as bloated and slow to act, the Belgian government has, since 2017, made reducing food waste a priority at every level — from the EU to federal, regional and communal.
This shift meant that organizations of all sizes, from large NGOs to small community groups, could suddenly access funding for their initiatives. I discovered a remarkable spirit of collaboration, albeit a bit disorganized, that allowed diverse stakeholders to work together creatively and effectively. It was messy, yes, but it was also incredibly productive, a master class in how layered governance can foster innovative solutions rather than hinder them.
Q: Where’s your go-to writing spot, and how do you deal with writer’s block?
A: There’s no magic to writing; it’s just work. It’s the often-unglamorous task of rolling up your sleeves and putting in the hours needed for drafts and revisions to express your ideas as clearly as possible. It’s about getting the words on the page and moving the chains down the field, so to speak. Nothing prepared me better than my years in journalism working for magazines, where I learned that I didn’t get paid if I didn’t hand over the copy. I could be a posterchild for the Pomodoro Method of timed writing; I adhere to it religiously because it gets words flowing.
I prefer to write at home, either at my kitchen table or in my tiny navy-painted home office, surrounded by my cats and cookbooks. But I’m pretty flexible and can take my show on the road when necessary. For writer’s block? I pour myself a glass of wine, then try again. Ultimately, I just keep trying until I break through.
Kelly Alexander is an assistant professor and George B. Tindall Fellow of American Studies in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. She is a James Beard Award-winning writer and former editor of Saveur and Food & Wine magazines. Alexander’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek and O: The Oprah Magazine. She is co-author of The New York Times best-selling barbecue cookbook Smokin’ with Myron Mixon. She is also the author of a UNC Press “Savor the South” cookbook, Peaches.
Nominate a book we should feature by emailing college-news@unc.edu.