Interview with Jess Ho
We were thrilled to have the chance to chat with author Jess Ho about their recently published memoir, Raised by Wolves. They talk to us about where the work began, the writing process, advice for their younger self, and the future of food writing.
Congratulations on the publication of Raised by Wolves! Can you tell us in your own words a bit about the book? Where did it originate for you and what made you want to write it?
Thank you. The book is basically about how I fell in love and then out of love with hospitality in Melbourne. I didn’t originally intend on writing it that way and I wanted to tackle it as a survival guide to hospitality, but the more I wrote the more of myself went into it and I realised that there hasn’t really been a telling of the industry from outside of the kitchen from a non-white perspective. And it’s that perspective that really became the through-line for the book. I shudder when I look back at the original chapter outline.
Raised by Wolves is the Melbourne City Reads title for July and it really is a book so specific to this city. Do you think there’s something unique about Melbourne’s food culture? Are there aspects of it that you wanted to highlight in your writing?
Melbourne’s food scene is unique in the way that we love and celebrate small businesses unlike any other city in the world. I remember when Starbucks ‘retreated’ in Melbourne because our coffee culture is so strong. I don’t think I was explicit about it in my writing where I throw it in your face, but there is definitely a correlation between the happiest times in my life and working and dining in those spaces.
What did you find easiest to write? And what did you find hardest?
The easiest parts to write were all the crazy stories about diners, the funny scenes with my old colleagues and moments of learning. The hardest would have to be about myself, self-reflection and grief.
If you could go back and tell your younger self three pieces of advice before starting out in hospitality, what would they be?
There’s only one: don’t do it. But I know I’m stubborn and wouldn’t listen to myself, so I guess it would be: watch your back.
In the book, you talk about being a vault of secrets at work, listening to the gossip but always maintaining discretion. We hear a few of those stories in your memoir, though the people are always anonymised. Did you have a process of how to decide if you would include a particular story? And did you have any lines you didn’t want to cross?
I think I could write an entire book about all the things I wasn’t meant to know! The biggest screen for me was whether it would be incriminating for the person (or myself), or if they could be easily identified despite obscuring their name. Sure, that cut out the wildest stories, but I rationalised that maybe they’re not meant for public consumption. Maybe they can be repurposed in fiction.
If you had to restrict yourself to eating one region’s cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be? (Drinks and beverages excluded)
I’m ridiculously predictable, but it would be Hong Kong. Even though I grew up here, I always crave Cantonese food.
What would you like to see more of in food writing in this country?
Diversity.
You’ve recently launched a podcast with SBS called Bad Taste (and it’s excellent). Can you tell our readers a bit about it and how you decide on what topics to cover? Any sneak peeks of what might be next on the menu?
Well, we’ve just wrapped the season so I can’t offer you any spoilers! Bad Taste is a podcast about who we are through the foods we eat, and the underlying question of the series is, who gets to decide what good taste is? Food media is all centred around the white gaze in Australia, so I wanted to tell food stories through another lens. Each episode is structured in a way that I open with a food memory, delve into the history of it and I interview BIPOC experts and chefs who have a personal connection with the dish and talk about its relevance today. The episodes can get quite heated and I’m proud to say that I’ve received a lot of feedback about how I’ve changed people’s perspectives on food and how they approach it.
Have you read any books lately that you’ve loved and would recommend?
I love Andrew Pippo’s Lucky’s, Jessica Stanley’s A Great Hope and Ocean Vuong’s Time is a Mother.
