An Herb Grows in San Francisco

By: Rafe Bartholomew
"There are a lot of older white guys running newspapers, and it's tough for them to see the value of food stories," said Kim Severson, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. It can be hard for a food section to improve its status within the newsroom, but those in charge of the Chronicle appear to have seen the light.

The 16-person "Food and Wine" staff moved into a three-story converted warehouse, located directly behind the Chronicle's main offices, during the first week of May. It is the paper's only department that has its own building, which is equipped with a 20,000-bottle capacity wine cellar, a state-of-the-art test kitchen -- and a rooftop herb garden. The recently planted garden hosts a variety of herbs, including five different kinds of basil, six kinds of mint and a rare Kaffir lime plant, native to Southeast Asia.

Staffers are responsible for watering the plants. "Basically, it's our own effort," said Executive Food and Wine Editor Michael Bauer. "Everyone on staff has a certain day where they have to go up to the roof."

The garden allows the "Food and Wine" section to supply its own herbs for test recipes. With no good markets within walking distance, the paper's herb autonomy could save a lot of time and money, said Food Editor Miriam Morgan.

Innovative food journalism is nothing new for the newspaper. "We've always been at the forefront," said Bauer, asserting that the Chronicle was the first American daily to publish separate food and wine sections (on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively) and the department's policy of testing all recipes before printing them. Publishing a recipe that hasn't been tested is like not checking out all your news sources, observed Bauer. "It's even worse," he added, "because readers are spending money to cook that recipe."

In addition, a number of hard-edged food and wine stories have run on the Chronicle's A1 page and elsewhere in the regular news section, said Morgan. "We have to stop looking at food as just recipes and something frivolous," said Bauer.

Food writer Severson won a local award for her stories on partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, or "trans fat," an ingredient in 40% of the food sold in grocery stores, which isn't listed on nutrition labels despite being linked to heart disease. Investigative reporting tells people what they're really eating and informs them of possible health risks, Severson noted. "I'm a big cheeseburger and fries kind of girl," she said, "but I like to know where that burger's coming from."

The new building shows "a huge commitment" by Chronicle Publisher/President Steve Falk and Executive Vice President/Editor Phil Bronstein to the food and wine sections, said Bauer. The San Francisco Bay area audience cares deeply about food, so the paper's support "makes sense," he added.

Bronstein and others from the main newsroom are often invited to join the "Food and Wine" staff for Thursday afternoon test meals. Management's attitude is that "the food section is really good, so let's bring it to the next level," Bauer said. "The goal is that we'll be able to raise our circulation through the food section."
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