Is it Just a Meal?

Food is an integral part of people’s lives. If you ask someone, you will most certainly find that they have certain food cravings and a relationship with a specific food. The reasons for this may vary; for some it might just be because of the taste of the food and that’s their reason for loving the meal so much. For others, it may be due to the nostalgia a food gives. It may remind them of a certain place or time in your life that brings comfort to you. One source of nostalgia is taste, which is one of the primary human senses. It is one of our primary ways of survival, as well as smell, which in some cases is connected to happy memories. Cooking homemade meals has been a human tradition for hundreds of years and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. In Michael Pollan’s New York Times essay, “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”, he describes the innovation of learning how to use fire to cook, suggesting it “[…] has done the most to advance the cause of civilization” (Pollan 16). Whether you agree with Pollan’s take or not you have to admit that cooking has advanced society in many ways. This includes being able to prepare food more efficiently, as well as making the food we eat much more safe and minimizing risks of food-related illness. With that being said, one wonders if people long for the result of cooking, or if they long for the cooking  process and the people and environment involved? As the taste of these meals are usually phenomenal, in my opinion the people around the meal itself involved in the preparation and the indulging of food at the end are just as if not more important than the food itself.  In our English class this semester, we were tasked to write an essay about our favorite homemade meal. I decided to write about my mother’s steak sandwich. The steak sandwich is made with a ribeye steak, brioche bun, arugula, caramelized mushrooms and onions, and finished with creamy horseradish. The sandwich tastes amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it means much more to me than just a meal. It reminds me of my home, as well as my wonderful mother. Now, everytime I go home, one of the first meals that my mother offers to make for me is the sandwich. She knows I love it and it’s her little way of welcoming me back after coming home from school, which at times is extremely stressful. One of the patterns of other people’s favorite meal essays written in that class historically has been tied to a certain human being, more particularly a family member. One of the most powerful ways humans have expressed gratitude toward family as well as peers has been through food, and through the hard preparation of cooking, it shows that you care enough for a person to sacrifice time out of your day to help quench that person’s hunger and craving.

As the world continues to evolve — everything is getting faster and faster, leading to less time to do things such as prepare food. Well, it would be unreasonable to think that people can consistently make homemade meals from scratch three times a day for seven days a week due to time. However, there should definitely still be a few homemade meals stitched into your week. Through homemade meals there is so much camaraderie to be had with your family and friends via the cooking process, as well as sitting down together all around a table and enjoying the final product. One thing that was discussed in the Pollan essay “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”, was when it discussed women’s historical role in the cooking process saying “It’s generally assumed that the entrance of women into the workforce is responsible for the collapse of home cooking”. I can obviously see why this plays a role in how home cooked meals have diminished over the years, but for me this hasn’t been the case. My mother has worked a 9-5 job since the day I was born. She always found a way to make sure we were fed. Yes, occasionally after a busy stressful day she would get takeout for us because she physically and mentally didn’t have the capacity to cook after a long dreadful day. With that being said, more times than not she still would suck it up for my brother and I and figure out a way to get us a meal. Now that I’m older and have had some time to mature, I honestly can’t put into words how impressive and admirable it was for her to sacrifice so much for her children, even while having to maintain her own career. Looking back on it now, it really was selfless of her to still be able to prepare a meal for us, a good tasting one at that,  while having to keep up with all her responsibilities at work. This is something I’ll forever be thankful for. In the 2018 archived “Favorite Meal Essays” fall semester one, I noticed a student, Kayla Lowe, had a similar thought process to me on this subject. She went on to say in her second paragraph of her essay that “nothing is more meaningful than someone making a dish specifically for you” (Lowe 1).  What I think Kayla was trying to talk about was that the sacrifice of other people’s time and effort to please you doesn’t go unnoticed. Whether you notice it right away, or a few years later, all people remember the people that treated you right and went out of their way to serve you.  As a young child, I thought that was just the regular standard of all parents to make sure their kids had a nice, good tasting meal every night. Now that I’m at college and don’t have that anymore and have met people in my life who never had those same opportunities as me, it makes me feel extremely thankful that I grew up with such a luxury.

My fellow classmate, Jack Hamil, wrote his favorite meal essay previously in the semester just like myself about a dish that his mother makes for him. In his case, it was about her homemade mac and cheese. He also talked about this meal as a symbolism for home. Jack is from my town, but he attended a boarding school about an hour and a half away up north. In his essay he stated “…everyone should have the privilege to try my Ma’s mac and cheese not only because of the food but because of the stories and conversations you’ll have indulging in this meal” (Hamil). Here Jack references the values of home cooked meals besides the meal itself. In my favorite meal essay I stated “This is my go to meal every time I get to go home; it probably will be as long as my mother and I are on the planet together.This is my go to meal every time I get to go home; it probably will be as long as my mother and I are on the planet together”. Something unique about food is that it isn’t just its face value. It’s not just the presentation of food as well as the taste that makes food comfortable. It’s the memories as well as the people around the food that’s most important. As referred to earlier in my essay, I strongly believe there is way more involved than just the food itself in the entire cooking process, especially when loved ones are involved. For me, biting into the steak sandwich is one of the more comfortable feelings there is. The feeling of comfort and familiarity when indulging in this meal makes you feel safe and secure, and you know you are home. Through examining what Jack had to say in his paper I’m sure he would agree with me as well. 

It’s hard to argue that time isn’t one of the most valuable resources the world has to offer. There’s no way to replace time, you can’t go to the store and buy more of it. It is a scarce resource. When somebody uses their time in their day to help take care of a loved one in any capacity it shouldn’t go unnoticed. One example relating to this essay is preparing food for a loved one. My fellow classmate, Jillian Dinneen, talked about how her grandmother used to take care of her mother when she was a kid in her favorite meal essay. She talked about how even when her grandmother was busy as a single parent taking care of her family financially, she still made time to  prepare a home cooked meal. As Dineen puts it “Even when her mom… , was busy working to single-handedly provide for her family,  she always made sure she had a home cooked meal for her children” (1). Here Jillian is talking about how her grandmother was able to prioritize her time around her family, even while balancing all the pressure of having to provide for her family entirely by herself. 

Food is important not just for the basis of survival but also the opportunity to connect with loved ones and the people you care about on another level. When someone you care about  cooks for you there is a certain level of connection through you and the person that prepares the meal for you. By observing what people have written in their favorite meal essays throughout the years in our introduction level English class here at the University of New England it can be concluded that when it comes to people’s favorite homemade meals a lot of it  has to do with the people behind the dish, not the food itself. Food is not just a basis for survival, it’s an opportunity and a gateway to help bring people together and show you care for someone.

Works Cited

 Dineen, Jillian. “Favorite Meal Essay.” May 4 2023. English 110, University of New England, student paper.

Hamil, Jack. “Stuffed Shells.” May 4 2023. English 110, University of New England, student paper.

Lowe, Kayla. “Stuffed Shells.” May 4 2023. English 110, University of New England, student paper.

Pollan, Michael. Title of Book. New York City, New York Times, Publication August 2, 2009.