“Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.”
Elsa Schiaparelli
I came across this quote on Instagram recently, and liked the sentiment. I’ll admit I had to Google Elsa Schiaparelli (an Italian fashion designer, apparently) but I like her approach.
Eating can become a battleground of sorts: a battle to eat well when really you want to surrender to the biscuit jar, a struggle to maintain good habits and look after yourself when time is hard to come by, and fighting against the constant clamour of pseudo-science to avoid fads and just eat simple, wholesome and tasty food.
That’s a lot of conflict, so it’s nice to think of the friendlier side of food too. Food as a friend, as comfort and nourishment and fun.
For me, food is often a social or leisure kind of thing, a way to recharge, find some head space or share some good company. On my own, cooking away with a podcast on, grabbing a quick bite at lunch time on a busy work day to clear my head, meeting friends for a meal, or simply tea, cake and chats.
A recent holiday in Spain featured lovely, lazy balcony afternoons with snacks (amazing fresh figs, nuts and other tasty bits) and good company. Fast forward a few weeks to a Saturday night in with friends, and lots of delicious nibbles, including olives, cheese, and juicy red grapes.
It’s the simplest things that can make us happy really, isn’t it?