Contributing Culinary Article

The following was written by a friend from the food school in New York.

On Food in Our Times

As we progress in terms of business and education, the quality of life that we maintain for ourselves becomes very localized. We know where and how we want to build our day, and we build it. Different people will choose different hobbies and pastimes, which results in a gap between an individual and their kinfolk. It becomes almost an imperative to find common ground to bridge the gap and re-establish the bonds we should be sharing with our neighbors.
So that raises the question of how we bring people back together. In order to answer that question you find something that we all have in common. What do we, as humans, need? It is a simple question with an answer that is as profound as your level of commitment. I say nourishment and what do you think? Do you think of freeze-dried ramen noodles with salt flavoring packets? Do you think of fancy restaurants that charge more than you’re worth for an item whose name the average American cannot even pronounce? Do you simply think food while imagery fails you? The level of mysticism that surrounds the dining environment is such that we are more entertained by the cluttered wall of an Applebee’s, than the honest surroundings of a local restaurant run by honest people with no corporate say so. But this isn’t about bashing the “man”. This is about taking that mentality over by putting the power to choose in our own hands. Is the only counterpoint to the corporate restaurant’s inferior quality a miniscule amount of food that costs an arm and a leg? Is it possible to offer an enlightened approach to food in our times that revolves around accessibility without sacrificing quality and commitment?
Any revolution should be treated like a flame. In a flame’s infancy it can be put out by the slightest gust of wind. However, if the flame is allowed to grow, it can eventually consume everything in its path. We are building a fire that needs to be tended. In order to tend this fire, we need networks with like-minded individuals. As the network and philosophy behind it grows, so too does its influence. We will watch as the quality of life shoots up in a positive direction for people who, before we began, believed themselves too poor for it. We will watch as those who have become set in their ways discover new joys because of better options that present themselves readily. And we will break our backs carrying not only the common man, but the ground from under his feet into a new age of food without him even knowing that he went for a ride.

Brendan Costello