# How Critically Acclaimed Debut Novelist & Food Journo Catherine Kurtz Writes Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925/how-critically-acclaimed-debut-novelist-food-journo-catherine-kurtz-writes Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925/how-critically-acclaimed-debut-novelist-food-journo-catherine-kurtz-writes.md Podcast: [The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925) Published: 2026-06-12T07:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/tcQd6Q6C0RUUlOHq1Ytj/mgln.ai/e/51/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/TPG2750806684.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/tcQd6Q6C0RUUlOHq1Ytj/mgln.ai/e/51/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/TPG2750806684.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925/episodes/how-critically-acclaimed-debut-novelist-food-journo-catherine-kurtz-writes Duration seconds: 2607 ## Resource Critically acclaimed debut novelist and food writer, Catherine Kurtz, spoke with us about art school, painting life, judging the International Chocolate Awards, and her delicious first book FEAST. Catherine Kurtz is a multidisciplinarian known for her parallel careers in the visual arts, literature, and culinary criticism – including as a judge and educator in the field of chocolate tasting. She is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and a Grand Jury Member of the International Chocolate Awards. Her debut is, Feast, “for fans of Chocolat (show-co-lot, haha, i need this 😂) and Like Water for Chocolate,” and described as a historical novel set at the turn of the 20th century as one young woman navigates the wonders and perils of her remarkable gift: an astonishing sense of taste and smell. Alex Hay, author of The Housekeepers called it, “A beautiful book, vivid and delicious and alive—a story of escape and belonging and one woman's extraordinary gifts, unfolding its mysteries with care, brimming with feeling and stunning prose.” Catherine Kurtz is also a painter represented by The Redfern Gallery in London. Her journalism has been published in a variety of publications including The Spectator’s Scoff, Harvest, ckbk and Celebrated Living. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Catherine Kurtz, Milena, and I discussed: How her debut ​​combines her backgrounds as a painter, food writer, and professional chocolate taster Writing a book for The Great British Bake Off on Chocolate Working with rock star turned chef Graham Garrett on his bo… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925/episodes/how-critically-acclaimed-debut-novelist-food-journo-catherine-kurtz-writes/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writer-files-writing-productivity-creativity-and-neuroscience-467925/how-critically-acclaimed-debut-novelist-food-journo-catherine-kurtz-writes.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.