Hello my friend,
One of my favourite quotes about food (and philosophy) is from Carl Sagan. He says: “A star is a kind of cosmic kitchen inside which atoms of hydrogen are cooked into heavier atoms. Stars condense from interstellar gas and dust, which are composed mostly of hydrogen. but the hydrogen was made in the Big Bang, the explosion that created the cosmos. If you wish to make an apple pie, you must first invent the universe.“
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This really brings us down to our relationship with food – what, really should be one of the greatest miracles of the universe right there, on our plates has been reduced to the superficial bombardment of the senses.
I say superficial because we literally get five seconds of satisfaction from even the most ornately and complexly created dish. Think about the last time you had a really memorable meal – no doubt the food was delicious, but I’ll bet that there was also some ambience involved, or good company, pleasant emotions – perhaps laughter or love and a sense of slowness. In short, we savoured not just the flavours on our taste buds but also the experience.
It doesn’t help that ‘fast’ food and our frenzied lifestyles make us unthinking in our choices - and in those choices, without pause, we will almost always lean towards fleeting pleasure over lasting satisfaction. A recent study from Duke University found that our brains process taste first before the thought of the health of the food even comes into consideration. If there was ever a greater need for mindful eating and a pause before making our choices, it is now.
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We often label ourselves as foodies when we have an enjoyment of rich flavours of food and exotic combinations (or are capable of eating a lot of it 😅). What if a true foodie was one who could see the miracle in the simplest of ingredients, capture the subtlest of flavours in fresh, real food, feel a sense of awe and delight in every meal?
CC Vyvyan, the travel writer, also has a beautiful quote: “As one grows older, one should grow more expert at finding beauty in the unexpected places, in deserts and even in towns, in ordinary human faces and among wild weeds.“ Can we see the beauty in the everyday ordinary? Can wisdom open our eyes to the wonder of the thing that is in front of us? Can we become foodies who can marvel at the true creation of a simple slice of tomato?
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Thank you for your attention and have a wonderful day!
Sandhya
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