Graduate Certificate in Food Writing
Food Writing is coordinated by Professor Barbara Santich, Graduate Program in Food Studies. The Graduate Certificate in Food Writing articulates with the Graduate Program in Food Studies.
Teaching staff include Professor Barbara Santich together with Jill Jones and Professor Brian Castro from the University's Creative Writing program. Guest lecturers include experienced professional writers and journalists such as Gay Bilson, Dr Kerryn Goldsworthy, Marion Halligan and David Sly.
Aims
The Graduate Certificate in Food Writing can be studied as an end in itself or as an elective within the Graduate Program in Food Studies. It is equivalent to 12 units of coursework.
The Graduate Certificate in Food Writing is designed to
- introduce students to the varieties, contexts and issues of food writing and develop food writing skills in a range of styles and approaches.
Typical students are very interested in food and wine, not only eating and drinking and cooking, but also in the history, culture and politics of food and drink. In addition, students aim to develop their writing skills and to publish.
The Penny's Hill/Adelaide Review Food Writing Prize is awarded annually to the best student who receives $100, a case of Penny's Hill wine and the opportunity to have an article published in The Adelaide Review. Previous winners include Vikki Moore ('The Last Lunch', 2007), Hilary Duns and Marianne Robins (joint winners 2008), Cassie Harrex (2009) and Marianne Duluk (2011). Harrex's evocative article about the Spanish resort town of San Sebastian, 'Pintxos Nights', was published in the August 2009 edition of The Adelaide Review. Harrex writes about San Sebastian's great tradition of pintxos: ‘These are the Basque version of tapas, each just a mouthful, and they are piled high between the beer taps and wine bottles on almost every bar countertop throughout the city.'
Marianne’s article on the 2011 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival was published in the December 2011 issue of The Adelaide Review.
Content and Methods
The courses are taught through lectures, seminars, workshops and writing exercises, both on-campus and online:
- Food Writing A: Intensive is an intensive one-week course on campus at the University of Adelaide, with workshops and presentations by both University staff and specialist lecturers; completion of this course is a prerequisite for Food Writing B: Essentials.
- Food Writing B: Essentials is delivered online study in semester 1 (12 weeks).
Food Writing A is generally scheduled in early February (assistance with accommodation options is available) and students complete a range of writing assignments in the subsequent six weeks.
Food Writing B starts late February and continues through first semester to early June. Students are required to read and discuss a variety of texts and to submit written material approximately every two weeks. During this period the online or Virtual Classroom is used for discussions among students and instructor. While a convenient time for everyone is taken into account, you may have to come online in the early morning or late evening. Each week you might spend around three hours on reading, another hour on participation (the Virtual Classroom) and as much time as you can spare on your assignments. There will be 4-5 assignments of varying lengths to be completed in the online study period.
Opportunities for Employment
Opportunities for employment include journalism—not only newspapers but magazines of all kinds, and also electronic media; marketing and PR is another possibility.
Food writing graduates include:
- Lisa Dempster (2009), who is current Director of the Emerging Writers' Festival. Lisa's book, Neon Pilgrim, was published in October 2009 by Aduki Independent Press
- Carli Ratcliff (2008), who contributes regularly to the Sydney Morning Herald's 'Good Living' and has a blog on SBS food called Hunter Gatherer. Carli won the Judi Hirst Memorial Award for Best New Writer in the 2010 Australian Association of Food Professionals Food Media Awards.
- Karen Reyment, who regularly writes for a variety of Australian newspapers and magazines and in 2010 was appointed Brisbane correspondent for Gourmet Traveller magazine.
Eligibility, Application, International Students
Eligibility
Applicants should have a bachelor's degree or equivalent, or relevant professional experience (e.g., journalism) and an excellent portfolio of creative or journalistic writing.
The portfolio of writing should be supplied in electronic form (preferably PDF, alternatively docx or doc) and should contain:
- a representative selection of work, published or unpublished,
- 10-20 pages, for unpublished work double-spaced, 2.5 cm margins, A4, name and page number on each, cover sheet (of your own devising) with contact details and contents of portfolio.
If you need to work on a portfolio now, here are some suggestions. Commence reading from such publications as Marion Halligan's Eat My Words, Gay Bilson's Plenty: Digressions on Food, Barbara Santich's Looking for Flavour, the anthology Forked Tongues from the University of Adelaide's Creative Writing Program, then try writing about similar issues. Try writing, for example:
- restaurant reviews
- wine reviews
- about recipes your mother cooks
- about the worst meal in your life
- about your desert island foods
- about travel and food
- about the history of food
- about your favourite cooking implements
- about food in your family
- about food in literature, or film or visual art
Send the portfolio not to SATAC but to: foodwriting@adelaide.edu.au
Domestic Applications
Graduate Certificate in Food Writing: go to the SATAC (university section) website and find the course. For further information go to:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/study/postgraduate/coursework/apply/
International Applications
You will not normally need an international student visa for the brief period of on-campus study. All applicants will need to fill out the attached form, and send it, together with their portfolio, to foodwriting@adelaide.edu.au
