I’ll admit I have quite a passion for food. I always look forward to my daily meals, and often catch myself talking about it when it’s not yet time to actually dig in. It’s also one of the things I miss most about my native country (tortilla de patatas, jamón serrano, how I miss you so!). Food is such an essential part of our daily lives (we would die without it, after all) that it has become ingrained in society itself. First of all, there’s the admirable art and culture behind cooking and preparing food, which intends to make a meal enjoyable for all of the senses. This isn’t a secret, as can be seen by how the culinary arts are highly regarded at practically a global level. Cooking is only the beginning of the experience of food, however. The step in that experience that I will pay more attention to is when the meal is actually consumed and enjoyed. The art of cooking is one thing, but the art of eating is entirely different.
The process of eating can be just as complex as the cooking, if not more, and that is in part our own fault as a society. One reason for our complexity in this area can probably be attributed to how much importance we place on table manners from even our earliest years. Table manners are a set of common, unspoken rules – a set that, if broken, will often yield some nasty looks. We are all too familiar with the most common rules, and many of us have probably already had several embarrassing experiences involving them, so there shouldn’t be any need to discuss those further.
Some manners can vary from place to place, which makes them that much more confusing, and by varying places I don’t just mean countries, but also even different locations and different situations. Sometimes, all it takes is some fancy clothes, rich (usually older) company, and too much silverware to count on two hands (“what IS that small fork for anyway?”) to make us stop and think self-consciously about our every move. We all know, after all, what a horrible impression we would give if we got confused and used the wrong utensil to enjoy our meal!
Outside of such stressful, formal settings, though, it can be entertaining to wonder if these pointless table manners ever had some sort of purpose, rather than just existing to make our eating experience just that much more annoying. Why do we find it rude and disgusting when someone chews with his or her mouth open? Perhaps it’s our way to defend ourselves from disease, and we just don’t realize it.
The obvious irony in all of this, however, is that at the end of the day, when we’re alone, most of us indulge in ignoring the common etiquette and simply go for the most comfortable (and sometimes even most fun) method to fully enjoy the delicious food in front of us.
Clearly there are many different ways to enjoy different meals, and many social rules and manners to match them. In the modern day, however, we seem to be inclining less towards the traditional, hour-long meals and favoring instead the faster, cheaper, much more convenient meals that fast food bring us. It makes sense – as we begin to live faster, more hectic daily lives than in the past, our eating habits adapt with us in that same way. But is this the best way to revolutionize the way in which we eat?
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