Bon Appétit

My friends are upset because I always want to go home for dinner these days. My girlfriend is annoyed because lately I have been reluctant to eat at restaurants. My taste buds are depressed because I do not eat candy anymore. What happened to me? Where did I go wrong? Eating food used to be a pastime for me. Everyone likes food, but me, I liked food. I enjoyed eggs, devoured donuts, consumed carrots, ravaged ravioli, and inhaled ice cream. I ate everything I could fit my in my mouth. I would spend all kinds of money at diners, cafés, and other assorted eateries. I used to munch all the time: breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner, bedtime repast, you name it, I ate it. Then I stopped eating that way, leading my friends to think I had simply outgrown my constant hunger. Not a bad guess, but an incorrect one. The truth is I have undergone a metamorphosis. Now I am healthier, wealthier, and closer to my family.

I asked myself the question: what are the benefits of preparing meals at home? I began to read literature about food and study cooking methods, but that was not all; I learned about the concept of food itself. I discovered how to eat, why to eat, when to eat, what to eat, and with whom to eat. At the same time I learned to prepare my own meals, making use of my new found knowledge. This knowledge consists of the following key facts: proper nutrition is immensely important, the amount money saved by eating at home is enormous, food preparation is a major facet of every culture, sustaining oneself through cooking is quite satisfying, time at the table with family and friends is invaluable to healthy relationships, and controlling the substances entering one’s body makes mealtime feel secure and comfortable.

Whilst studying my craft my pals missed me, my girlfriend was peeved, and my taste buds missed the deluge of sugar, but once adept I invited everybody over to eat the meal I prepared, all was forgiven. Michael Pollan’s bestseller, In Defense of Food, begins with these seven words. “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants” (Pollan “DoF” 1). That is basically all one needs to know about healthy eating. However, elaboration is needed due to all the confusion concerning eating these days. A good diet is not hard to figure out or even practice if one makes all of his own food and wisely decides what is going to end up in his stomach. When one fixes a meal for himself he never has to worry about its ingredients, he knows because he put them together himself. He estimates how much fat, cholesterol, calories, and sugar he consumes and because of this he does not fret about whether the meal will potentially shorten his life or render his butt too large for his new pants. A chef also knows exactly what a meal is composed of; that means no hidden variables. Unless he chooses to add it, he can be positive there will be no dye, artificial flavoring, partially hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, or waitress hair. “When you cook at home you seldom find yourself reaching for the ethoxylated diglycerides or high fructose corn syrup” (Pollan “DoF” 159). Not only does the cook know what is going into the meal, he can better judge how old the food is or from where it came. I do not buy my produce at the Supermarket; instead I patronize the Farmers’ Market, where I can speak with the people who actually grew the food I will be ingesting. When I make a salad, I know the lettuce came from Salinas Valley four days ago, the tomatoes from a farm north of Bakersfield, and the onions from one in Gilroy. Because of this, I have a much better idea how fresh my food is. Pherron Hillyer, one of the cooks I interviewed, suggested I obtain my produce in this manner. He stated, “I like getting my food locally because I know it hasn’t been travelling across the country with two tons of ice for the last month” (Hillyer). Mr. Hillyer works at our local “Applebee’s” and always wants control over what he eats. Earlier I poked fun at the idea of waitress’ hair being in a meal. This would be funnier had I not once witnessed a woman’s soft, brown curls fall out of her bun, directly onto a customer’s spaghetti. She quickly apologized and brought the man a new plate of spaghetti (whether it was new or whether she simply walked back into the kitchen, waited, then brought out the same plate I will never know).

This brings me to my next point: while dining at a restaurant one can never know for certain what is going on in the kitchen. The eater’s lack of control disconcerts me. What if the woman’s hair had fallen while she was still out of sight? Would she have done anything? What if the chef does not like hand soap or washing knives after cutting raw meat? There are simply too many ‘what ifs’ for me to feel comfortable at a restaurant, especially a fast food one. My mentor, culinary academy graduate Joline Sewell, specifically remembers working in kitchens and witnessing cooks mutilate meals with their hands and phlegm. By dining at home, one eliminates these possibilities and also controls the portions. While cooking, I have domain over how much I eat and, to a degree, how much everyone else eats. While dining at a restaurant one may opt to quit eating when full and save the rest for later. However, studies show that most Americans prefer to finish all of the food on their plate (Pollan “DoF” 64). Surveyors asked eaters in France when they stopped eating, and most replied with the simplest answer, “When I am full.” But when Americans were asked they responded with alarmingly different answers, “When my plate is clean. When the food is gone. When the show is over. Etc.” (Pollan “DoF” 189). By preparing their own meals, people can make the portions as large or small as they wish, setting a standard of how much will be eaten.

Culture is another important aspect of cooking and eating that has been diluted by certain restaurants and altogether ruined by microwaveable alternatives. Preparing a customary meal with a customary method is one of the simplest and most effective ways to feel, well, customary. In the earliest of days, before the American Dream, before the vision of success, before sports, videogames, and the million and one forms of entertainment available to us, there was food. Nowadays, many people eat when they have time, when they are bored, or when they are absolutely starving. They grab “Poptarts” and call it breakfast, they munch popcorn during a movie and consider it lunch, and they deem post workout protein shakes worthy of the term “dinner”. In this day and age one fifth of eating is now done in the car on the way to or from destinations (Pollan “DoF” 189). In the days of old, hunting, gathering, preparing meals, and eating them were not simply a form of nourishment. They were not even just a way of life, they were life. Fast forward to a more relevant time period, say anywhere from one thousand to fifty thousand years ago: people’s lives no longer revolve around food, but food certainly still occupies a great deal of their time. However, at this point they have become creative; they have become unique, ultimately they have created their own intricate culture. This culture — for now I am speaking on specifically the food aspect — was passed down from generation to generation, continually being developed and refined.

Think of your favorite meals: are you a pizza person? The heart of Italy beckons to you with its baked dough, tomato paste, and an assortment of toppings. How about Japan’s delightfully dippable dish, sushi? Or maybe India’s chicken curry? Versatile and nutritious, a well rounded meal can spread to taste buds all over the world. But what happens when people make food for the sake of convenience? When food is created to be simple, cheap, and appealing to all, it becomes appealing to none. Corndogs are the result of making food without culture. I propose we avoid these microwavable piles of unrecognizable substance in favor of, to be blunt, just about anything. Traditional foods from all over the world still exist and are still popular because they are healthier, more filling, and tastier than processed ones. I doubt “Hot Pockets” will still exist in even one hundred years while humans have been eating forms of pasta since as early as 400 B.C. (Pollan “OD” 206). What are “Hot Pockets”, Corndogs, and “Poptarts” anyway? My taste buds do not even recognize these foreign artificial substances. “The more you concentrate on how it tastes, the less like anything it tastes. … And so it goes, bite after bite, until you feel not satisfied exactly, but simply, regrettably, full” (Pollan “OD” 119). Learn from what has worked and not worked. Learn from what your ancestors decided to pass down and what they chose to pass on. Eat foods that have withstood the test of time. When people prepare meals of this sort, they are connecting to their roots and experiencing a fundamental aspect of their history.

When choosing what I will do for sustenance, I think about the entire experience. Driving past a window and being handed food in a bag is convenient and cheap — sounds decent. Paying waiters to bring me food while I sit at a table surrounded by people I do not know is simple and relaxing – appealing. Planting seeds, caring for the plants, harvesting their yield, and then converting that into a pleasant and appetizing meal – magical. Obviously not everyone can prepare their meals from the very beginning, but they can still take part in a fundamental and rewarding piece of the process. The more one works for something the more one values it; in this respect cooking is extremely satisfying. No longer is the eater seated and having a plate placed in front of him. Now he watches as his own hands transform an assortment of ingredients into a piece of edible artwork. Not only will he appreciate his own meals, his friends and family will enjoy it as well. There is no family time like the time at the dinner table. But when no one is eating the same thing and everyone has simply popped something into the microwave for themselves, the feeling of togetherness is lost. Imagine Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner: everyone is connected by the meal. At a restaurant, this might not be present.

All year round, children look to their parents for teachings on nutrition. When I was really young I could not eat anything on my own. When I grew a little older I ate on my own but only what my mom fixed for me. In my early teenage years she stopped making all of my food and I began eating what was convenient, junk food. Eventually she refused to buy me chips and soda and began actively encouraging me to eat healthy by showing me what to eat. It is not that kids do not want to be healthy, they just do not know how. Studies have demonstrated that children who frequently eat dinner at home with their family eat more fruits and vegetables and get better grades in school” (Martha). This learning cannot possibly take place if the child is not eating with his parents or the parents are not teaching him good eating habits.

If nothing else can persuade someone to prepare their own meals, the cost effectiveness might. One can save quite a bit of money by making dinner without leaving the house. For example, a plate of spaghetti at a restaurant can be “reasonably” priced anywhere from ten to twenty dollars. “A box of pasta costs around $1.30, a pound of sausage or ground meat $4.00, spaghetti sauce $5.00, you can add in some bread and garlic butter for around another 3 dollars. So for 17 dollars you can buy four servings of spaghetti… Here alone you are saving half of the cost of the meal” (Manley). When patronizing a restaurant, a customer pays for the service, the atmosphere, and anything else he does not have at home. However, once tax, tip, and parking meter are accounted for, eating out is even more expensive than one would think. Going out to dinner also costs time. “You have to get into the car, drive there, park, wait in line to be seated, wait for your service, wait for your food, eat your meal, then you get to do all of this in reverse. So this could take an hour or longer, not to mention the cost of the fuel you spend on getting there. Often you can prepare a meal in 15 to 20 minutes” (Manley). Some may argue that they cannot possibly create the exquisite feasts seen in restaurants. I believe, for the most part, they are wrong in this assumption. In fact, there are several websites like copycat.com as well as cookbooks devoted to showing people exactly how to make their favorite dishes from the comfort of their homes. I have used some of these recipes and can attest their excellence. Others may argue that their cherished food is already available to them at home; all they have to do is microwave it or, like my personal ex-favorite meal, pour milk on it. Cereal: it is convenient and tasty right? It is also “…four cents’ worth of commodity corn transformed into four dollars worth of processed food” “Pollan “OD” 91). Cereal is not the only example of a food that is not really food at all. When I think about what I am actually paying for at the supermarket; the dye, the fatty meat, and the corn, I become completely disgusted. Most real foods, ones that depended on sunlight to create them as opposed to a machine, ones that are comprised of protein chains as opposed to chemically engineered glucose, ones that are chicken as opposed to ones that taste like chicken, can be purchased and prepared inexpensively.

Before this undertaking, I would have had to consult my mom multiple times while making macaroni and cheese from a box. Now my mom asks how she and I can possibly be cooking with the same eggs when mine taste so much better. As I hoped I would be, I am now a skilled chef. Along with learning how to prepare my own meals, I also learned why. I make dinner at home to save money. I start my day off healthily by fixing a ham omelet or oatmeal with fruit instead of munching “Poptarts”. I take some time out of my weekends to be a chef for my family so we can be together and still keep our busy schedules under control. I cook with my mentor so that, as she says, “I can have what I want, when I want it” (Sewell). She taught me how to use knives more effectively than I had ever seen them used. She explained the importance of hygiene and the value of eye appeal. Joline Sewell educated me on everything I had hoped to learn. What I did not count on learning were the intricacies of food. My project was about cooking but part of me wishes it was about food in general. If that were the case, I could have talked about this whole new dimension and greater understanding of food that I gained from all of my reading. When I opened my first book, I could not imagine how I would choke down two hundred pages of text about the stuff we eat. When I closed the last book, the word ‘food’ had a whole new definition in my mind. It is not just sustenance, it is an expression of culture. It is not just a meal, it is a work of art. I strive to eat real food now, plants that grew from the soil, berries that developed on a tree, mammals, birds, and fish of all shapes and sizes, while avoiding fake foods created in factories, packaged in silicon, and jam-packed with ingredients I cannot pronounce.

The kitchen has become a home within a home for me. The double door refrigerator that houses the components of my meal, the stove that never ceases to make the rest of the room look bad, the westward facing window providing my light at the sink. They have always been there, but now they feel as if they are really here. My legs float across the hardwood floor, hands milling about on their own. Pick up knife: chop, chop, chop. Shake handle on stir frying wok. Consult recipe. Yell at dad for not getting enough mushrooms. Check timer on the oven. Clean up spilled Worcestershire sauce. Taste dough. The aromas of ground sausage waft through the house as I wipe my onion induced tears on my sleeve. I am careful to avoid touching my hands so I do not have to wash them again. I get this feeling of inner peace. I am in my own little world. For that short time I spend in the kitchen I am like an ant serving its one and only purpose. I set the stove top to simmer and remove the tray from the oven. How did I go my entire life without this? My mentor sets the table as I put the final touches on the entrée. Wow. Everybody enters the kitchen. No way he made this. How long did that take? Camera flashes. With all my willpower I resist the urge to let out a triumphant yell. I smile, “bon appétit.”

Works Cited

• Hillyer, Pherron. “Cooking and Me.” Personal Interview. 5 Apr. 2010
• Manley, Stephanie. “Why Cook at Home?” CopyKat Recipes. 12 July 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2010.
• Martha. “The Benefits of Home Cooking.” Simple-nourished-living Nourish Your Body. Energize Your Life. 27 July 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
• Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.
• Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma a Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
• Sewell, Joline. “Culinary Prowess.” Personal interview. 21 Mar. 2010.

Works Consulted

• Steendahl, Christine. “The Benefits Of Preparing Home-cooked Meals.” SG & Singapore Map — Singapura, Singapur, Singapore Information. 2010. Web. 13 Mar. 2010.
• “Benefits of Family Cooking.” The Global Gourmet. Forkmedia, 2007. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
• “Cooking at Home Has More Benefits.” The Chronicle. Hofstra Chronicle, 30 May 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

• Photo by Pablo Venegas / Used with Permission

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