Every solution starts with someone taking the first step.
I have been having a lot of conversations these days about food. I know that may not seem like such a big deal for a guy who owns a restaurant but these are bigger food conversations. Things like:
”What is wrong with the food system, if anything?”
“Does ‘local’ food really matter? Maybe it is just a trend.”
”What is local food?”
“All food is local, somewhere, right?”
”Isn’t eating locally really expensive? I can’t afford it.” And so on and so on. Some of these questions come from customers, some come from peers, some come from friends, some are conversations in kitchens, and others are conversations in my head that have happened over the last five years. They are all valid questions, and I have a bit of knowledge on some of them but I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS. (If I did, more people would be reading this blog, or I would have multiple books and you would see me on many talk shows, and we don’t want that, now do us.)
The thing that intrigues me so much about local food is that it does affect so many people and so many other parts of our lives. It is energy. It is economics. It is the opportunity to share food with someone and ultimately develop community. It is sometimes the opportunity to be alone and just be in the moment all by ourselves. Food is pleasure. Food is a challenge. Food is art (if you work at it or get lucky.) Food is very important to me. This is why I spend so much time thinking about it. This is how you can take that first step. Just think about it. Think about food. Think about where it came from. Who grew it? Where did the seed come from? What is the story behind that food? Who handled it along the way? How many miles did it travel? How many hands – how many people touched your food before it touched you? That food is yours, right in front of you. Every time you choose to eat something you have bought all of where it’s come from. Think about it.
Here are some ideas of what you can do to get the ball rolling.
1. Eat something you have never eaten. Learn about it. Read about it. Food Timeline and History
2. Take a friend to lunch, even something small and simple, don’t talk about food, and just enjoy the time with that person.
3. Find a recipe for something you had eaten a long time ago and make it again. Learn everything you can about that food. If it is important enough that it is still in your memory, get to know it better.
4. Enjoy a guilty pleasure. Find something, one bite of something that makes you just crazy. Just one bite.
5. Find a server in a restaurant and talk to them all night long about food. Servers know a lot and they are willing to share. If that server does not know, they will find out and you will have helped them out with their knowledge as well.
6. Email a chef. Send them a note about a meal you had, were it great, and were it bad, something, starts a relationship with a restaurant. It will make you both appreciate the experience of eating in a restaurant that much more.
7. Email a farm, really. Find out where you can get there food, buy a CSA. If you don’t know what a CSA is, look it up. Ask that farmer more about why they farm. GO, and help them, volunteer to work a day or make a visit. (At the same time, respect the farms time, be creative, and maybe bring some friends and help for a day, of if not, just get to know them the best you can.) Land Stewardship CSA List
8. Foster creativity and curiosity in a child by introducing them to a new vegetable. Let them eat it raw, the cook it, and let them see the difference. Lyndale Youth Farm and Market Project
I am going to end there, some of you may want to go to a top ten list or maybe 15, or 20, who knows, and I will let you fill in the rest. Answer back and give me some of the things that you think about with food. Try some of these things and see what happens. In the end. We all have to eat, so why not truly enjoy the process?
Filed under: Uncategorized by Scott
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