Approximate reading time: 1 minute, 50 seconds
In the midst of the busy and fast-paced lives we lead, we often lean towards fast or junk food, processed and industrialized foods, mostly composed of chemical ingredients that artificially give them texture, color and flavor. Naturally, there is little or almost nothing left and we no longer know what we are ingesting.
TV programs inspired by cooking, such as Top Chef Chile, Divina Comida or those by Anthony Bourdain, have popularized and, above all, valued this domestic chore. Cuisine is an expression of culture, territory and diversity.
Cooking is also a link to our roots and traditions. We honor the culinary legacy of our ancestors and keep their memory alive. Each dish carries with it a story, a journey through time and space that connects us with our cultural roots and unites us with those around us.
There are preparations that evoke memories. Flavors, aromas and situations remain so engraved in our memory that we long to be able to replicate them. The novel masterfully written by the Japanese author Hisashi Kashiwai in his novel The Mysteries of the Kamogawa Tavern is about this desire and feeling.
As a counterpoint, we can see on the menus of some restaurants dishes for “children” that generally offer food of little nutritional value. This type of dishes is aimed at providing a solution to adults (that the child eats) rather than children, without considering that this type of decisions generates distance (and even rejection) with other types of foods.
Cooking is an expression of love. Preparing a meal for our family and loved ones is a way to show them how much we care. Cooking in a common pot is an act of solidarity that is revived in Chile in emergency situations due to economic crises or disasters, as we have seen these days in the towns devastated by the fires in Viña del Mar and Quilpué.
Cooking has served as an analogy to explain other aspects of life in society.
An unfortunate case was that of former senator and former minister Andrés Zaldivar to explain the policy when he said that: “In these things, not everyone can be in the kitchen, there is often the cook with some assistants, but not everyone can be there, it is impossible”. Years later he tried to amend his sayings: “The concept of cooking has to do with dialogue; not with arrangements” and he defended that it goes in the direction of talking and preparing the way to achieve agreements.
When talking about education, I like to say that it is like cooking in that it requires knowledge, skill and patience. Anxiety is your worst advisor. Teaching is like cooking over low heat, you should not rush the preparation or be measuring its results at all times. Heating food in the microwave is like preparing students at the last minute to take the SIMCE test. The entire meaning of education is lost just as the essence of food is lost.
Cuisine is an expression of culture, territory and diversity. Learning to explore, know and enjoy different culinary expressions is a good exercise to recognize and overcome our prejudices and that is why it hurts to see the amount of food that is served in the school system and ends up in landfills.
Marcelo Trivelli
Seed Foundation