Chiang Mai 2015

In this poignant episode of Gastronomica on the New Books Network, writer and historian Camille Béjean reflects on her 2015 trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, which became a turning point in her life and writing. The essay, 'Chiang Mai 2015,' emerges from a personal crisis: arriving in northern Thailand during a severe haze crisis caused by forest fires, only to witness her father's sudden illness and eventual diagnosis with a brain tumor. The experience, layered with climate anxiety, cultural dislocation, and the fragility of health, becomes a lens through which Béjean examines the intersections of personal trauma, environmental degradation, and the politics of culinary tourism. She unpacks how the search for 'authentic' food is entangled with neocolonial desires, while also revealing how food—especially familiar, comforting meals—serves as an anchor in times of crisis. Her journey from academic food historian to creative nonfiction writer is framed as both an act of survival and a reclamation of self, rooted in sensory memory and intimate relationships. The episode culminates in a meditation on care, presence, and the quiet resilience found in shared meals, even amid loss and uncertainty.