Food and good writing are great procrastination obsessions. Well they seem to occupy my mind most of the day…

Luckily, in its shiny new first edition, biannual literary mag Seizure brings both of these to the table.

And I assure you, you’ll be devouring this smattering of delicious stories and recipes in one long sitting.

With an aesthetic reminiscient of a retro cover of Vogue Living, these pages are thankfully free of Donna Hay or any Masterchef cast-off. Instead this impressive line-up of local writers has created a literary degustation feast from entre through to dessert.

Amongst recipes from a goldmine of sources (BlackStar Pastry, Stockmarket and Jah Bar to name a few) there is some beautiful and honest writing. From Sam Twyford-Moore’s candid vocation of battling with bipolar amidst his quest to bake a kangaroo pie to Andy Kissane’s sweet poetry about a loaf of bread.
Mark Jensen of Red Lantern fame gives us the educational run down on seasonal produce, while Sunil Badami reveals the secrets of Dan Hong’s magical ramen, THE CHRONIC, which Sydneysiders are more than happy to queue for at Gumshara in Chinatown.

Anya Poukchanski’s intimate struggle through her ritualistic preparations of a roast duck may confront a few, but I am still hoping to master – despite the slightest twinge of carnivorous guilt – Cafe Mint’s Apple Cider Duck Tagine which follows on p. 75.

Each writer tackles the business of food in all of its forms and uses making us approach the stuff in a somewhat more thoughtful way to that which we are steadily growing accustomed to amongst glossy magazines and celebrity chefs.

Playful, colourful, witty and scrumptious this is something that will look pretty on the coffee table but won’t stick there for too long – there’s far too much to digest.

The next edition of Seizure is currently in the works to be released with a Sci Fi bent.

SEIZURE: A Journal for New Writing (Issue 1: Food)

Available at all good bookstores (see here) and online @ www.seizureonline.com/

Liz de Fegely