Food as a Story

All food has a story.  From where it was planted, to where it was grown, to who harvested it, to how it was transported, to who sold it, to who bought it, to who cooked it, and to who ate it, there are so many little stories that each dish collects along its journey from farm to table.  And every person along the journey that food takes has their own story to tell too. 
 
Here at the Brainfood Summer Institute, we took a day to appreciate the art of food storytelling and how food interacts with culture and tradition.  We named this day “Soul Food Day” and cooked some of the dishes our students had requested, including collard greens, mac & cheese, cornbread, and pumpkin pie.  Before we began cooking, we took some time to watch a few videos of speakers on the website “A Spoken Dish” – a storytelling project dedicated to “celebrating and documenting food memories and rituals from people across the South.”
 
We then had students share some of their own favorite memories regarding food in their families or from their diverse backgrounds.  It was such a wonderful experience for students to listen to each others’ family memories, quirky recipes, and funny stories about food in their lives. 
 
The next week, Chef Teddy Folkman taught a class at the Summer Institute and his presence enriched the food story theme even more.  While we cooked and ate together, he told several stories about his experiences cooking as a child with his siblings, how he got into the restaurant business, and funny things that have happened to him throughout his work experience in the food industry.  It was great for the students to see how his passion for food and cooking intertwined with so many stories and themes such as community, bonding, compassion, patience, and tradition.      
 
Food has the ability to change lives.  Here at Brainfood, we inspire a community that will continue to further their own food traditions and create new ones with the people around them.  Connecting people to what they eat and making memories with it is just one way to counteract separation many feel from their food, where it comes from, and where they themselves come from.  Wrapping up the Brainfood Summer Institute with international week, we were able expand our views on food culture by learning about food traditions from many regions of the world including China, Mexico, Jamaica, Japan, and Eastern Europe.  Students loved trying out the fun new recipes from each country and exploring the new flavors and traditions each culture brought to the table.    

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