Lemme tell you about one of the great loves of my life

Lemme tell you about one of the great loves of my life…

FOOD.

Even as I write this, a rush of dopamine is hitting my brain causing an involuntary tiny dance and squeal of joy.

This is no surprise, I suppose, as eating for me is a whole body experience.

I get giddy with excitement (nay, ecstatic) when I discover a flavour, ingredient, or cooking technique previously unknown to me - a sort of awakening takes place as I digest what feels like a whole new world.

If you know me, you know that one of my favourite ways of exploring a culture is through its food.

As I land somewhere, I turn into a ravenous child that wants to try ✨EVERYTHING✨:

the produce they use, the ways of preparing this & that which have been passed down through generations, the teas found in every kitchen used for curing common local ailments, the little secrets on how to crush a certain seed or boil an ancient root.

I basically never get social fomo, but food fomo… well let’s just say I now have a self-soothing speech I tell myself about how «it’s impossible to try a whole country’s culinary heritage/repertoire in a couple of days, plus we can always come back.»

This sometimes provides some comfort, but often a pouty tantrum while stomping my insatiable hunger for more is still needed.

My best souvenirs of a trip are usually linked to food. Sometimes they are of a dish itself but most often they involve the interactions that unfold around a meal.

A Taiwanese lady buying me a scallion pancake when she heard it was my first time in Taipei, making “Korean tacos” (쌈밥) in Gyeongju with someone I met serendipitously, chatting to a fellow solo dinner while sharing an oyster omelette, the hotel owner getting a box of local pastries for me to try…

These exchanges nourish body & soul.

I believe, in many ways, how we eat is how we live.

Just like breathing, we may do it our entire lives without even noticing it happen or we can make it an ongoing sacred practice of presence, ritual and communion.

After all, eating is an indelible reminder of our dependence to nature. An embodied connection between individuals. An ongoing conversation of humanity through time. A celebration of life itself.