Food without Borders

In the past few centuries there has been a culinary boom around the world, which has forever changed the gastronomical status quo. Indeed, it is hard, if not impossible, to imagine Russian cuisine without potatoes, which Russian farmers refused to grow at first and were paid a stimulus by Peter the Great to plant the “devil’s apples.” Or picture an Italian dinner party without spaghetti, which were brought by Marco Polo from China and referred to as Marco’s Ronni (macaroni). Global movement and a system of transportation made their impact on the global gastronomy; and French Revolution revolutionized the way we eat by causing an establishment of first restaurants where a meal could be ordered off a menu. The cuisine is the mirror of culture, as significant and representative as music, dress and literature – we are what we eat. To this day we continue exchanging our eating habits. While someone in the west is cooking miso, making sushi and learning the basics of tea ceremony, someone in Japan is ordering a double tall latte to chase a double bacon cheeseburger. Some are attracted to another culture’s cuisines, some stick to their own, and others do not realize that they are eating food designed centuries ago in lands far away from their own. Cuisines evolve, as does everything else, yet there is the core that stays the same – comfort food. Comfort food is something that we eat when we want to feel better, when we experience nostalgia, or want to treat someone close to us to a special meal, meal that reminds us of childhood and carelessness. Comfort food shows the core of culture, a peak into each human represented under its umbrella – be it mac & cheese, that represents a busy life-style, a microwave and a boxed meal; or beef bourguignon, which breathes the fields of Provence, the golden hour, peaceful evening, fresh vegetables, grass-fed beef and deep-red wine shared with a loud company. If you want to understand a culture – ask for the comfort food.