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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In Chhaunk: On Food, Economics and Society, Abhijit Banerjee treats food as more than a question of calories or nutrition. The book uses cooking and eating to examine pleasure, dignity, social hierarchy and everyday life in India. In a January 2025 interview with Scroll, Banerjee argued that food policy should take enjoyment seriously, too: “I think pleasure should be a right for everyone. People should be able to enjoy something in their day. Why not?”
What is Chhaunk about?
Chhaunk: On Food, Economics and Society is presented as part memoir and part cookbook. Banerjee, an economist, uses food as a way into questions about Indian society and daily life; Cheyenne Olivier illustrated the book. Its bibliographic record identifies Juggernaut Books as publisher and 2024 as its publication year. Google Books lists the edition as 331 pages and gives its ISBN as 9789353452421.
The book should not be confused with Banerjee’s earlier cookbook, Cooking to Save Your Life, which has its own publisher page.
Why does Banerjee call pleasure a right?
Banerjee’s point is not that nutrition is unimportant. In the Scroll conversation, he says he is not opposed to nutrition-first approaches; he wants policy to recognize that people also want to enjoy what they eat. A narrow focus on nutrients and minimum subsistence can miss the human value of flavor, choice and the small satisfactions of a meal.
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He frames pleasure as part of a decent everyday life, rather than a luxury reserved for people with money or status. His question—why shouldn’t everyone be able to enjoy something during the day?—asks policymakers to consider what food provision means to the people receiving it, not only whether it meets a nutritional threshold.
How does food reveal social hierarchy?
Food is also a way people express identity and draw social boundaries. In the interview, Banerjee discusses vegetarianism, caste and religious relations, and the power attached to choices about what is eaten. “The idea that food is a domain where we can express our hierarchies is a very powerful one,” he says.
That is Banerjee’s interpretation in the conversation, not a claim that any one food choice has a single meaning. His broader point is that eating practices can carry social significance beyond taste or nutrition: they can reflect belonging, exclusion and status.
What does cooking together add?
Banerjee describes cooking as an accessible form of creativity: it can deliver a quick sense of accomplishment without requiring elaborate skill or elaborate plans. He also suggests that two people can make a good meal together without much effort or stress.
That everyday scale matters to the book’s argument. Cooking and sharing food can create company and connection, while loneliness and migration can make familiar meals especially meaningful. The interview also considers gendered work in kitchens, so celebrating cooking does not mean overlooking who is expected to do that labor.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the interview say about food policy and climate risk?
Near the end of the conversation, Banerjee connects food and welfare policy with the uncertainty created by climate change. “With global warming, we’re going to see huge uncertainties and disasters,” he says. His policy perspective is that redistribution and shelters can help people facing increasingly difficult conditions.
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He argues that support should be designed with respect for the people who need it: “We need to design redistributive systems that aren’t rooted in contempt for beneficiaries but are genuinely sympathetic.” The interview presents this as Banerjee’s view, rather than a systematic evaluation of particular programs.
Quick Recap
How to identify the book
- Title: Chhaunk: On Food, Economics and Society
- Author: Abhijit Banerjee
- Illustrator: Cheyenne Olivier
- Publisher and year: Juggernaut Books, 2024
- ISBN: 9789353452421
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