EAT, COOK, LOVE

In my foods class, we have just finished watching a CBC Doc Zone called Eat, Cook, Love. It is all about how we can recreate a relationship with food. People are starting to eat only because they have to, not because they want to. Food is beginning to be viewed as something negative for many reasons, such as it can cause obesity. This documentary mentions some places around the world that are trying to control what the people intake. For example, in New York, they wanted to reduce the salt levels because 8 out of 10 people intake more salt than their daily recommendation. So they tried to ban salt in restaurants. In Japan, there is now an obesity tax and Foiegras, which is duck, is now illegal to serve in the United States. These are a few examples of how people are trying to control what the people in our world eat and try to limit our personal choice. In Eat, Cook, Love, they convey their message which is that it is important to have personal choice, which comes along with personal responsibility. This means that it is important to have choices such as what you want to eat. There shouldn't be any restrictions on what you can and can't have. It is your responsibility to make the right choices for yourself on what you want to eat and how much you want to eat the government should not be in control of that. Furthermore, this documentary encourages us to recreate a relationship with food. They provide a great example, which is the Mediterranean diet. This diet is part of the peoples heritage and the recipes are passed down through generations. If these traditions are not passed down then they will be lost. Therefore, it creates a relationship between people and food. Secondly, in Las Vegas, there is a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill. The chef there strives to corrupt the American diet by delivering nutritional corruption. These two examples demonstrate how we should all eat because we want to eat, develop a positive relationship with food and make our own choices about what we want to eat. This documentary has inspired me to do just that!

The French Culture

One of my good friend's just recently did an exchange with a girl from France. Her name was Charmaine Laurent. During the time she was in Thunder Bay I took the opportunity to interview her about her culture. Here are some of the questions and answers from our interview.

1. What is a famous food from France? A French food that really stands out in my mind are crepes. They are so delicious and you can eat them with almost anything.
2. What is your favorite food to eat? My favorite food would have to be Strawberry Napoleon's. They are my favorite French dessert. It is made with Puff Pastry, strawberries and some type of whipped cream.
3. What kinds of French foods do you enjoy making? Well, my favorite thing to make are crepes probably because they are so easy and delicious. But, some of the other foods I enjoy making are Ratatouille, chicken cordon bleu,  and onion soup. I don't really like blue cheese at all so I don't like to eat the chicken cordon bleu. I make it because my parents love it so I'll cook a meal with the chicken once in a while.
4. What is a common ingredient used that is different than what is commonly used in Canada? Well, in France there are so many different kinds of desserts that are made with Choux pastry. It is a light pastry dough used to make eclairs, beignets, French crullers and many others. 
5. What are three odd foods you can find in France? To start, Pigeon can be found on many of the fine restaurant menus. Secondly, at a restaurant in Paris called Au Pied du Cochon where you can try just about any part of pig you want to try. Lastly, a really disgusting in my opinion French food is Boudin Noir. This is blood pudding or blood sausage. It is often served with diced potatoes, onions and sometimes little bits of apple.

I found that interviewing another person from a different culture really opened my eyes to the diversity of cuisine throughout the world. There are many foods that I would love to try out to experience different cultures through their cuisine! I definitely need to try out these Strawberry Napoleon's.