The night before our presentation day, we all decided to gather for one last food experience. Tonight we enjoyed a lovely array of pita with hummus, freshly made samosas, and a platter of various cheeses
 accompanied by olives and pickled peppers.
We hardly made a dent in the food presented before us because we were too busy talking about school and how much our lives revolve around food.
A moment in our conversation that really stood out to me was where Joyce asked if we should post our favourite recipes and Erin responded that she doesn't have a go to recipe because she never makes the same thing twice.
Something about that statement resinated with me, most people generally do make the same things twice and or have set meals for specific days of the week. So when we live every week eating the same meals on the same days are we in fact living life to the fullest?
Why not spend each day experimenting with different ingredients and creating meals that you have never eaten?
Food is the one thing in life that we cannot live without, so why not make it an adventure everyday, step outside of a comfort zone and tantalize our taste buds.

Final Thoughts

From this project, through self-reflection, research, a critical analysis of food in society, and most importantly through dialogue with Joyce, Sarah and Allison, it has become apparent that food both mediates and is mediated by our experiences. Therefore, food serves as an excellent vehicle for life narrative. Indeed, the idiom 'you are what you eat' can be read as a much larger statement than the commonly interpreted meaning that if you eat healthy, then you'll be physically healthy. I think the truth in 'you are what you eat' lies in the way we have internalized this and the value-judgement that has been attached to it. I think it can also be extended to read 'you are who you eat with, where you eat, how you eat, and so on'. But this is not to diminish the intimate relationship between food and our bodies; it is to situate food consumption and our bodies within the broader culture.
In looking back at our posts, I've noticed that our shared dark table experience reflections reveal that we did take notice of and feel similar things, although there were a lot of differences, for example in sensation and in our comfort levels .While we were at the restaurant, I felt that in a way we were narrating the moment, and I wondered how much this would affect our reflections. To a certain extent I think this did influence what we each produced. I also noticed in reading others' posts that there were a few details that I 'mis-remembered'. I decided not to make edits and celebrate the ambiguity of truth in life narrative!

In our group dialogue, there were a lot of other experiences and topics that we covered which we did not include on our blog. One thing that we noticed is how if one of us described a food experience with the group, there was usually a point where we could each weave in our own narrative. For example, at our pot luck, we all had a story to tell about the issue of food-related anxieties.

It comes as no surprise, then, that food memoir is an established literary genre. As well, cookbooks, food blogs, and instagramming food are often autobiographical. There is simply so much we can each speak about our selves, experiences, and identities through food.

Eating My History

       Being a first generation Canadian, I was constantly battling my mother about what we would have for dinner; Example: I always complained about how I hated rice because "its all we eat", and wasn't afraid to talk about my disdain for okra because, "who the hell eats that anyway?" I used to always talk to my friends about how I didn't like the food my mom made and always telling my mom to make 'normal' food which other kids were eating. I was so wrapped up in fitting in and eating what the other kids at school were eating, that I started to ignore my roots. I guess I forgot how lucky I was—and I am lucky for many reasons.

         My family is from Haiti--a country located on an island in the Caribbean. This means that my whole life, I have had Caribbean food at my disposal! Unfortunately, amongst my selfishness, I didn't realize the negative affects this had not only on myself, but also my mother. Since my sister and I didn't like eating Haitian food my mom stopped making it.  For years, she too ate the food we ate--spaghetti, chicken, potatoes or Shepherds pie. I guess I didn't realize that in a sense we were erasing her memories, and her culture. It wasn't after I entered university, and was self sufficient, that my mother started cooking exclusively for herself, and started making Haitian food on a regular basis. Eventually—due to my non existent cooking skills—I caught myself sticking my fingers in her food, grabbing a spoonful of rice and peas, or grabbing a chunk of 'Morue a Banane' (Salted Cod with Plaintaine)--I guess I could say, I forgot how good the stuff was!! I was so caught up in fitting into a cultural homogeneity, that I forgot about the awesome food I was missing out on. Not only was I missing out on the food, but I was also missing out on the history of the food; what it meant to my parents; what it meant to me; and possibly what it would mean to my future children. I forgot how interesting it was to learn the history of the food—for example, a lot of Haitian food derived from the days of colonialism, where slaves were stuck eating whatever they found, or whatever was available to them. At the time, pig was the animal that was mostly available to slaves, and that's why Haitians include a lot of pork into their meals. Learning this not only blows my minds to pieces, but it also shows me how my ancestors survived turmoil and political unrest, and  how—through food—they survived (or tried to survive), which is why I am here today.

        I am Canadian, and living in a place where there are hardly any other Haitians, so it's important for me to remember my roots. I now understand that through food, I am able to keep my culture alive and have the ability to pass that on, not only to my future children, but as well to those who are close to me. I hope that one day, I'll have the courage to cook Haitian food for friends (if they sign a waiver first), and show them part of my families history. I have learned that food is an important way of learning history and developing the future, and so I take it upon myself to learn the dishes which my mom cooks....

.....even though she says I am a hot mess in the kitchen.....

I only hope that my children will take advantage of the opportunity to eat their history, and will avoid being brats about food like I was!

                                                     Griot, with Riz A Pois & Banane Peze.

Pan-STARRS GAzin'

I find it liberating to celebrate (with food and drink) occasions other than traditional Holidays.  For example, May Day/ Beltane if you like summer, the spring equinox, my birthday, etc… Most Sundays, my partner and I go to my parents’ house for dinner. It’s great because my sister and her boyfriend cook awesome vegan food and my parents load up the bar fridge. A few weeks ago, the comet Pan-STARRS was making an appearance. My sister decided to make this the theme of our Sunday dinner. Her menu consisted of: borscht cloud and potato pan-STARRS ( latkes).  My partner and I were assigned to bring dessert. Pictured below is our original ‘comet vomit with stardust’ (3 types of sorbet and shimmery sprinkle topping with store bought vegan/gluten-free cookies). We were lazy.

Right before we ate, we brought the telescope out, but unfortunately we missed our chance to see the comet. The moon was nice, though.

Semiotics of the Kitchen

I discussed in my first post the shift that has occurred since the 1960s in terms of feminisms attack on expectations of female domesticity. I thought I would post this performance art piece by Martha Rosler that comments on the social pressure women faced in the 1960s. This was created in the same year that Laura Mulvey published 'visual pleasure and narrative cinema'.

On the piece Rosler states: "I was concerned with something like the notion of language speaking the subject,' and with the transformation of the woman herself into a sign in a system of signs that represent a system of food production, a system of harnessed subjectivity."

 I wonder how this could be updated to reflect the contemporary situation in western society. Is woman's subjectivity 'harnessed' into the system of signs that represents food production in the same way? Is Rosler trying to speak the frustration of an entire generation of women or just her own? Personally I think this system, though not unchallenged, remains in tact. My own response would have to be a mixture of both frustration and pleasure.

Food in Film and Television

There are certain movies and TV shows that I can not watch on an empty stomach. Besides the obvious explicitly food-related shows (No Reservations, Top Chef, etc) The Sopranos, with its generous family dinner table scenes is certainly one of them. But aside from making me salivate over a bowl of noodles that are probably half-cooked, or a resin-cast caprese salad, interactions over food are really effective in mediating dialogue, getting into characters, and establishing power relationships, and I feel like this could also be said about 'real life'. In one episode of the Sopranos, for example, I remember Carmela commenting that she felt 'used' by Father Phil who lusted excessively over her baked ziti. I've actually made Carmela's baked ziti (modified to be vegetarian), using the recipe from the Sopranos cookbook my friend gave to me a  few years ago after I became really really obsessed with the show, and I will admit it is good. However, I think in this instance, food is sexualized, and consumed, and by extension so too is the woman who made it. Though this is a fictional representation, I think this consumption of 'the other' (sexualized or not), occurs regularly via food, even outside of the Sopranos world. Another notable interaction that occurs over food in the series is the final, ambiguous scene where the family is sitting at a diner enjoying the simple pleasure of a basket of onion rings. I'm still not too sure of the signification of these tasty fried treats. I remember someone saying they ate them like communion wafers, but I'm not convinced. I'm about 90% sure Tony Soprano got whacked though.

Sopranos Cookbook

Sopranos Final Scene

Quentin Tarantino, discussing the relationship of food and power in his films:

A Brief Survey of a Male Vegetarian

The following is a little Q&A I had my partner do. Last semester I wrote a paper about PETA's attempt to masculinize vegetarianism (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/stay-firm-and-fresh-peta-_n_2076499.html and http://www.xojane.com/issues/peta-campaign-bwvaktboom-domestic-violence) as an answer to dominant narratives that equate meat with masculinity, and (by virtue of our culture's dualistic mode of thinking), vegetables with the feminine.  I thought it would be interesting to look at the micro-politics of the daily life of a vegetarian man through personal narrative. It took the form of a structured interview.

How long have you been vegetarian and what are the initial reasons you chose to remove meat from your diet? Have these reasons changed?

I have been a vegetarian since I was about 12 years old. I can’t remember precisely. I never enjoyed the few meat items that I had been forced to try and decided finally to remove the little that I might eat to be a “real” vegetarian. I am still a “real” vegetarian because I don’t like the thought of killing animals unnecessarily.

Can you recall any early food-related memories?

The earliest I can remember is an incident where I was compelled to eat scrambled eggs to attain the prize of one of those chocolates at the end of a short white stick. I was disgusted immediately and did not receive my prize.

What is/are your favorite food/(s)?

Pizza is the scientific pinnacle of food assembly. It has all the necessary components of deliciousness and satisfaction.

How do you think vegetarianism is represented in popular culture?

Vegetarians seem to me to either be represented as naïve bleeding hearts, or as morally elitist snobs, or simultaneously as both.

How do you perceive the relationship between masculinity and vegetarianism and how does this affect your understanding of food, sexuality, identity and self?

The fiction of the authentic male is definitely largely informed by what he eats. Real men lose all mental function over the allegedly orgasmic experience of bacon and are invigorated by bloody steaks the way that Popeye is by spinach.

How does your vegetarianism affect your interaction with others, including friends, family, acquaintances, wait staff, etc?

I make a point of being one of “the good ones” who don’t remind people that what they consume is an animal killed not for subsistence but for pleasure, and killed without any dignity or experience of an actual life prior to slaughter. Despite this commitment, I judge, uncontrollably, all meat eaters as to some extent morally deficient, or intellectually incapable of comprehending the reality of their actions. Although such thoughts are not constant and I am typically capable of enjoying the company of meat eaters without thinking too much over their shortcomings. That said, vegetarians instantly get a few extra points of respect from me.

Describe your personal patterns of food consumption and relations with food production. Do you cook, care about the source of your food, etc?

I am learning to cook and enjoy it quite a bit. My relations with food production are typically zero however, as they are with most people, given the division of labour in the food industry. It would be nice to know that the garden that grew your food is just around the corner, but failing that, I suppose the closer to the city something is grown, the better.

Would you ever date an omnivore? Why/why not?

Not seriously, I would not want meat products in my home or the smell of burning meat filling the air within it. Although eating meat does not cause me to “write someone off” entirely, as I am used to knowing and forming relationships with meat eaters.