Tonight I interviewed a chef in order to get their perspective on the aspects and definition of nutrition. During the conversation I asked about peoples possible emotional involvment with food to which they gave a most marvelous and interesting aneccdote:
The interviewee had been a part of a group discussion where they were asked what their chosen last meal would consist of. A question that I believe many of us have adressed rather casually. As expected, many of the others in the discussion group answerd with the most luxurious and expensive food items i.e lobster, caviar and steak but my interviewee did not. They replied that their perfect final meal if given the choice would consist of a ham sandwich, packet of crisps and a "White's" lemonade. I found this absolutely fascinating as it was an answer I had ever heard before and never expected of a chef who has worked with the most pretigious of companys, creating the most lavish of meals. The reasoning, however, was very heart warming. The interviewee said this was because as a child they would run home from school every wednesday to be met with this meal waiting for them, made by their parents. In further discription of the amount of overwhelming condiments used it sounded the most awful of meals, but to them it was perfect. Because tthis meal was more than just food, a source of survival, it was a memory. And forever loccked within this meal would be that memory.
A lot of my research so far has brought me to how negative emotion can effect our eating habits and therefore circle back to our emotions but this response was a completley differrent perspective. The sheer fact that the most simple of gestures (looking further than food) can have such a massive effect on a persons emotions and attitudes is remarkable. This is a power that can greatly benefit a persons well being if we are able to channel such positivity so easily. For this outlook I am very grateful to my interviewee and look forward to anaylsing their responses further.
I would love to hear what other people "last meal" would be and why? I am going to have a very serious think about mine...
