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The Soul of Food
Updated: Mar 27, 2019
Why I love bringing joy to others through food.
What is food?
To many it can be a multitude of things. From something simple as nourishment for a hungry child, comfort to a person grieving personal loss, all the way to an absolute gastronomic adventure. There are no limits to what food can or should be..
For centuries culinary offerings have served us well in their ability to bring us together in the vast wasteland called life. Gathering in communal spaces to consume mass-produced items for the 30 minutes we have for lunch during a 9 to 5 day. Sunday dinners at Grandma's house, bringing generations to the table, trading stories and family history. The traditional community celebrations that paint our calendars in remembrance of those who came before, those we love, religious freedoms, and all things in between. Food is at the center of it all, feeding our minds, bodies, and souls; keeping us connected in so many different ways.
Food is far more than just something to eat if you look past the plate that sits before you. How much love, passion and creativity went into each piece of the dish, many are the hands that prepared your simple meal. I give recognition to every parent standing in a hot kitchen with more mouths than their money could afford, inspiring young chefs to bring forth miracles out of nothing. Though inanimate objects may sit randomly on tables globally there is a soul held quietly waiting to be revealed in each part of them. Only by the skilled hands and minds of the master shall it be revealed to the mouths waiting to receive the delights yet to be created by them. Think of how many years were spent passing the knowledge of proper preparation in a dish that brings you so much joy when you eat it. The many changes (or not) to make special. Once perfected, the recipe was passed from hand to hand, parent to child or chef to cook it all has a history and life of it's own.
For me as a chef this is the soul of the food I prepare on a daily basis both at #Bistro49 and for my family and friends at home. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the smile on peoples faces when they eat something I've cooked them.
To me, the ability to bring joy to others is the soul of food.
Have a culinary question? Hit me up anytime at ChefRod@bistro49jackson.com.