Why are you doing this?

[fifi]

First let me say that I am a huge fan of your work. I am a science geek. I have had my copy of your first book for several years and it is much dog-eared and post-it noted. I thoroughly enjoy your writing style and have referred to you as "the Jan Morris of food science". All of that pandering being said...

What inspired you to embark on a writing career in food science?

[Harold McGee]

Can’t get enough of that kind of pandering!

I explain how I got into writing about food science in the introduction to the new edition, which is pinned at the top of the forum page. Brief answer: the immediate inspiration was a form of expiration.