Many of us have always wanted to perfect the art of cooking, but some of us want to communicate how we feel about the foods we see and taste, write and share our recipes effectively, speak of the ties we feel to cultures through the food we eat.

Here is a chance for those of us who aspire to all this and more, to learn from some of the best people.

Sumita

"The Good Life: Writing About Food" with:

* Vikas Khanna, master chef and author of The Spice Story of India
* Ramin Ganeshram, author of Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad and Tobago and
* Julia Moskin, food writer for The New York Times

When: Sunday, May 21, 2006, 11AM-3PM
Where: Marymount Manhattan College, 221 East 71st Street
How Much : $50 (Additional $10 for boxed lunch.)

To register, email sawcclitfest@gmail.com with "Food Workshop" in the subject line. Prepayment is required. You will be forwarded information on how to do this. Participation is limited to 12 students, so sign up soon!

In this multifaceted writing workshop, learn how to write about food and all the memories and sensory experiences associated with enjoying food, from three different perspectives.

Vikas Khanna, master chef, activist and author of several cookbooks, will demonstrate both his cooking and writing abilities. He will present one of his fusion recipes, demonstrate how to translate the tangible art of cuisine into written form, and how to communicate the flavors and aromas cogently into a cookbook.

Ramin Ganeshram shares recipes from her Caribbean Indian family. She will read from her book, conduct and workshop writing exercises on food memoir, and will talk about how to approach this style of writing.

Julia Moskin writes about food for the readers of The New York Times. Julia will teach workshop attendees about the fundamentals of food feature writing, and also how to break into writing features for major publications.

This workshop is part of Mixed Messages, SAWCC's fourth annual literary festival. A three-day series of readings, panels and workshops, Mixed Messages will explore non-mainstream genres, highlight writers who use new media, and focus on writing communities.

More about Mixed Messages: www.sawcc.org/mixed.html