Jim Harrison

Jim Harrison, who died last year, was chiefly famous for two things: his writing and his appetite. As to the former, he’s remembered for his poetry and fiction, including Legends of the Fall. As to the latter, we find evidence in a dinner Harrison once shared with Orson Welles, which started with “a half-pound of beluga” and ended with “desserts, cheeses, ports,” as well as, Harrison’s obituary in the Times notes, “a chaser of cocaine.” But for all his legendary dining out, Harrison preferred eating at home. As he wrote in his food memoir The Raw and the Cooked, “I’m afraid that eating in restaurants reflects one’s experiences with movies, art galleries, novels, music—that is, characterized by mild amusement but with an overall sense of stupidity and shame. Better to cook for yourself.” His overarching food philosophy? “The idea is to eat well and not die from it, for the simple reason that that would be the end of your eating.” On this score—especially given his appetite for meat, liquor, cigarettes, and drugs—he didn't do too terribly.—SW