Since 2000, Holly Hughes has edited an annual anthology of excellent articles, columns, book excerpts, and blog posts about food and drink.  Appropriately titled Best Food Writing, these books provide a sampling of entertaining, informative, and provocative food authors from around the country.  Holly recently joined Chip Griffin to talk about the series for an episode of Cork & Knife Radio.

(Click here to listen to the 11 minute interview.)

The idea had been kicked around by Holly and one of her editors and they sensed an interest from the audience to create such a compilation.  Holly describes it as a "bedside read," not a kitchen book.  She makes the final decisions on what to include and ultimately offers up a simple standard: "If a piece makes me hungry, then I think it's done its job very well."

Holly told Chip that she has far more material than she can actually include each year, so she tries to ensure there is a good geographic and philosophical balance.  She likes to give an audience to regional writers beyond their normal arena, and she seems very conscious of her ability to help find these authors a new audience.

Over the years, she has found that sophisticated dining experiences now seem to more often occur in casual settings.  It is no longer a "jacket and tie only" experience that helps one discover fantastic food.

Of the authors who seem to show up year after year, Holly describes them as people who she feels would probably make "engaging dining companions." Robb Walsh of Houston is "one of the few local dining critics who is perfectly willing to give someone a really bad review if they don't live up to his expectations," and she admires the guts it takes to do so.  She enjoys Jason Sheehan in Denver because "every review is like a little novel." Jeffrey Steingarten writes for Vogue which surprises Holly because she "always thinks of Vogue readers as people who don't eat at all," but she says that Steingarten "takes you with him as he is exploring."

Of food bloggers, Holly says that it is a "great launching pad for people" but she doesn't see it as a way that people can make a living at food blogging itself.  "There's a huge range of professionalism in bloggers ... It is clear that nobody copy edits their writing."

A couple of books stand out to her from the many she has read, including Steve Almond's Candy Freak and Bill Buford's Heat (she still can't believe she gets paid to read books like those).  Of chefs, New York's Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune and Dan Barber at Blue Hill are ones that she thinks write particularly well, and she believes the fact that guests can read their writing can enhance the dining experience.

(Click here to listen to the 11 minute interview.)