Introduction

This is day one of my Food Blog 2011 from Cardiff, Wales (actually Dinas Powys, just outside Cardiff in The Vale of Glamorgan). I aim for a post each day for a year. It’s going to be a bit of an adventure, and I’m not exactly sure where it's heading! However, expect lots about independent food suppliers in the Cardiff area, eating out in Cardiff and The Vale, home cooking and the occasional recipe, and rants about this and that. There will also be book reviews, pieces on food science, and riffs on food and popular culture.Those following links from Facebook and my other family-friendly pages should take note – this is stronger stuff. I’ll often be writing about food with my biologist hat on, so it’s really all about growing up, sex, and death. On several levels, we are what we eat. However, overlaying our basic appetites are layers of culture relating to food – rituals, taboos, the art of cookery, dining out and so forth – that makes it an endlessly fascinating subject. The terrific diversity of what’s on offer to eat and drink, and the amazing things science and art are revealing about our relationship with food, might make it difficult cramming everything into 365 days, so let's get started!