To many people food is merely a means to an end. It gives them what they require to live. Simply put, it is just sustenance. For this kind of outlook food does not need much of anything besides nutrients. However, for the other folks like myself, food is so much more than that and I will touch on a few of those below.

Social
Regardless of where you are in the world, food has this unique ability to bring people together. Whether it be family, friends, or maybe complete strangers, food will unite. If you think of the times that you get together with family and friends, you may invite them over to watch the big game and have snacks and pizza, you go out to the local bar and have a drink and appetizers, you have your mom for Sunday brunch, or you host an elaborate dinner party. In all of those instances food is a key part. We tend to gather wherever food is present and a prime example of this is at typically every party, the kitchen is where guests congregate.

Tradition
A single bite of a special dish can bring memories of the past flooding back. We often connect food with experiences we have had before, like family occasions or that famous dish that your grandma used to make. There’s typically always at least one dish that is special to your family that when you hear it is being made you are transported back in time for an instant. In my family I think the three food items that are traditional to us are: 1) tourtière (French-Canadian meat pie) 2) pumpkin pie and 3) sweet and sour spareribs. These types of dishes are all about the emotions we have when we eat them and it is those exact emotions that provide the foundation of our food traditions.

Flavour
To me, food has to have one key component, flavour! Now, you might be thinking “what defines flavour?” and that is a very good question. Flavour can be as simple as a juicy T-bone steak seasoned with salt and pepper or as fancy as a five course meal in a fine dining French restaurant. Either way, food can transport you around the world with only a few spices and herbs, coupled with a little time and effort! In an instant you can be in the middle of New Delhi, the Mediterranean coast of Greece the next, and after that you can be sitting streetside at a little Parisian bistro. The world’s cuisines are merely a mouthful away, so start discovering!

As you can see, food is not simply defined by one thing and can mean something different to each individual. I encourage you to take a moment and ask yourself “what does food mean to me?”. Make a comment below and share what it means to you!

Until next time, keep it smooth and keep it tasty!

PD