[Skip banner] [Home][Sources][How Do I?][Overview][Help] [Return To Search Form][FOCUS][printdoc][emaildoc] Search Terms: haiku, Cho [Document List][Expanded List][KWIC][FULL format currently displayed] [Previous Document] Document 2 of 18. [Next Document] Copyright 1999 The Kansas City Star Co. THE KANSAS CITY STAR May 12, 1999 Wednesday METROPOLITAN EDITION SECTION: FOOD; Pg. E1; JUST A TASTE LENGTH: 541 words HEADLINE: Food fetishes and other culinary obsessions BYLINE: JILL WENDHOLT SILVA BODY: A madman, obsessed by SPAM, screams, "Stop me before I haiku again. Have you ever noticed how some foods gain a fervent following? I'm not talking smoothies, wraps or gingko-infused soft drinks. Count those as mere trends. I'm talking about those foods that would logically be relegated to a passing food fad, except that when they get pushed to the back of the refrigerator they simply refuse to grow mold. Then, before you can say "spiced ham," a subculture has taken root. This fascination with the salty pink luncheon meat has gone way beyond Monty Python's "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam" ditty. It has spawned Spam Web sites, Spam memorabilia and Spam-ku: Tranquil Reflections on a Luncheon Loaf, a slim book of haiku verse compiled by (I'm not making this up) Spam Haiku Archive Master John Nagamichi Cho. Of course, Spam is not the only food fetish out there. Chiliheads, those self-described heat-seeking hedonists who enjoy chugging volcanic hot sauces, could certainly qualify as card-carrying members of a culinary subculture. They get a rush from the molten sizzle the way folks who do extreme sports might. Dave DeWitt, a self-described "Pope of Peppers," has made it his mission to spread the gospel according to chili peppers. The author of The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia, DeWitt has hooked many a chilihead. As the founder of the National Fiery Foods Show, an annual convention in Albuquerque, he has lit a fire under incendiary foodstuffs. For that matter, the Kansas City Barbeque Society is a grassroots organization that spreads its zany love of barbecue around the world. They express their enthusiasm for their subject by adopting alter egos complete with nome de grille. A few might even don a pig snout. It's all good, clean fun. But they are devoted to their culinary pursuits. Instead of being manufactured by advertising agencies and PR firms, these food-related movements tend to come from a grass-roots convergence and often seem to take on a virtual life of their own. Take Marshmallow Peeps. Two years ago it became apparent to Just Born, the makers of the spongy marshmallow treats, that unofficial Web sites were puffing up sales. Not all of it was family entertainment, mind you. Some folks were body-piercing the stretchy chicks and displaying their photos in electronic galleries, while others were spinning them in a centrifuge and reporting the scientific fallout. The Just Born folks decided to jump on the bandwagon with the Official Marshmallow Peeps Web site, which premiered just before Easter. Who could have dreamed when Jell-O was invented in the 1890s that it would take on such cultural significance that it could make the leap from instant dessert to quivering icon? I am fascinated by the endurance of such foods and the passions they ignite. Only in America? Maybe. Ate three cans of SPAM, But there's still room for Jell-O. I love this country. LOAD-DATE: May 12, 1999 [Previous Document] Document 2 of 18. [Next Document] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [FOCUS] Search Terms: haiku, Cho To narrow your search, please enter a word or phrase: [About LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe] [Terms and Conditions] [Top of Page] Copyright © 2001, LEXIS-NEXIS®, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.