Each year, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is a magical place, and not just for food and beverages and chef interactions, but for straight up serendipitous events. Just a few weeks ago, I was enjoying a Friday afternoon cocktail class at the festival when I heard a familiar voice, a voice from a woman who seemed knowledgeable and curious and extremely specific in her line of questioning. I was seated near Christiane Lauterbach, famed Atlanta food critic who has documented the rise of this Southern city’s food culture through her mail-order publication Knife & Fork. She’s also been a voice in Atlanta Magazine for years, and I had heard that unmistakable French-accent first in an episode of Gravy, my favorite podcast from The Southern Foodways Alliance. Christiane is a critic’s critic, and although I don’t write reviews and instead cover the culture, folklore, and the people in food, I immediately wanted to ask her about a thousand questions. Her passion, dedication, and determination to try everything and do things her own way has built her maverick publication a cult following of chefs and those in the know. How does she do what she does? Well, it’s simple and yet so complicated -- she’s never lost her appetite for the next bite.