Where is food going? Does anyone know the answer? Has anyone thought about the question?
So many minds and mediums are being dedicated to studying past, present, and future food systems (I would know, I made a major around it. It's fancy), but what about "cuisine". Every time I open a cook book there are the top three--French, Italian, Asian. And now with the power of the internet (truly made so you can read my brillance) there are lists, forums, blogs, menus, recipes, and kitchen ware for every diet fad, allergy, and religious affiliated food ideal. Food is slipping out of the "Lifestyle" sections in newspapers and making the front page. Food is! Food has been and will be forever the source of life. Without it we cannot exist. Also, something that is not new is the way food and food writing is being attacked. I love my M.F.K. Fisher and cookbooks from long ago when they were handwritten and filled with home remedies. But Cookn'Scribble had a very good article here that made me start to re-evaluate the actual stance people have taken on food.
I have never been the biggest proponent of the Food Network--although I love Alton Brown--, and am even less in favor of "Top Tens" (restaurants, cocktails, chefs, way to cook it raw, napkin folding, etc). To me food is about the discovery, not the testimony. I love visiting new places because of the relevance that they have to my "usual" life. I have visited a butcher in Italy. I have visited a butcher in New Orleans. They spontaneously are similar and separate and coexistent. And in this global, modern world when I would like a nice Chianti or Sangiovesse with my nice filet (insert expense ad for Rare Cuts Here) from New Orleans I can make that happen.
So here is my question: where IS food going? When will I open up cook books and see not just French, Italian, and Asian sections, but the new globally-inspired cuisines that span over palates? When, where, who, and how will the advent of food get here? Because in my opinion it could come no sooner.
I can't wait to read the answer to your question, "Where is food going?" I, like you, am a lover of all things Southern. I wasn't smart enough to design a college major around it! That was brilliant. I remain another fellow Alabamian trying to surround myself with as much Southerness as possible.
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HMMMM....Great Post (and blog)! Forgive my long-winded (rambling) comment. 2 parts!
ReplyDelete1.Food is cyclical I think. It seems that like most things in life what's old will eventually be new again (e.g. "Farm to Table" was a non-glamorous/necessity for my mom's poor family growing up, not an American Food Revolution started by a hippy in Cali...shout-out to Alice Waters). Food is deeply personal. It's perhaps the oldest of arts and like art every so often someone (or some movement) comes along that will change the way we view and interpret it (Spain in the mid-nineties bringing on the "Molecular" movement). Most of the people that do it best have a deep respect/ understanding for it's history and craft. Some will reject these movements and cling to old world traditions, but the new movements will none-the-less find there place in the big picture of food history.
2. To find where food is going look to those who study a variety of arts, sciences, and other disciplines. Most successful people (artists, businessmen, entrepreneurs, chefs, etc.) look to other fields of study for inspiration. Charlie Munger (Warren Buffets Partner) studies darwin and applies psychology (among other sciences) to finance decisions, education takes a look at the cognitive sciences to reform the way we teach future generations, and Ferran Adria applies traditional sciences (chemistry, etc.) to foods we used to take for granted. A multi-disciplinary approach gives one the eye for where food could go simply by looking at where other studies are progressing to in the world at large.
All my rambling is making me hungry...I want a(nother) cookie. Happy Eating!