A Cook's Tour Pt. 1 Response

The Four Legged Victim

Every time I see, hear or even think about where/what meat comes from; that’s when I want to become a vegetarian. Anthony Bourdain pushes us as readers during this section to be as uncomfortable as we possibly can. At least, that’s how I felt. I started to feel sick when I read this portion and that’s why I specifically wanted to reflect on it. I feel like that must be something that imposes a lot of talent on a writer; being able to project strong emotions on the reader. Ill feelings treaded towards me as I thought about the poor pig and how no one else seemed to be thinking about that poor pig. At first when I initially read this section of the assigned reading, I began to feel mad at him. I was mad that he was watching the killing of the pig and complaining about how gruesome it was, yet, he didn’t do anything about it or truly decide to change anything pertaining to the future. But then, I started to like him. I liked that he was honest about how conflicted he felt. He understood the concept that he felt something by watching this scarring moment, but also was able to distance himself and acknowledge the fact that he was a chef and he needed to continue cooking with meat, taking meat out altogether wasn’t an option for him. I liked how he said he was going to really think about the meat and about saving it and savoring it, just like the people who lived in Portugal were doing.

It did make me uncomfortable, however, when everyone was singing the song about the pig. That part was really unsettling to me. It wasn’t the people’s fault of course, they were doing what they were used to doing. It was the actual concept that people (in general) can get to the point where they become so desensitized to things that other people find absurd. This forced me to reflect on the things I do in my day-to-day life. I found that within the first section of the book, I was able to relate to a lot of what Bourdain was saying, and I liked that he gave me the privilege of looking into his thoughts.

CYOA: Can food make us holy?

What makes food pure?

Last semester I took an ecological philosophy class and absolutely fell in love. I became very interested in what makes a food (or any substance actually) “natural” or “unnatural”. I had always thought that a food could be constituted as “natural” if it was in its most pure form- i.e. came directly from the earth without man manipulating it. While browsing the internet I stumbled upon this article; “Purity Through Food: How Religious Ideas Sell Diets” which really intrigued me. It is different in the sense that it is slightly philosophical, but I hope that you all find the first part very interesting.

Growing up Jewish, I have noticed that often times on religious Holidays, we are asked to eat certain foods that represent certain aspects of what had occurred in biblical times. In addition to being told that certain foods must be eaten because they symbolize values or traditions, we are also taught not to eat specific things because they are not pure (unkosher). These are just a few examples of what sparked my interest for this topic. I chose this reading because I would be interested to hear what your take on it is. Can certain foods make a person holy and unholy?

*The article posted is only relevant for my presentation up until right before the words in bold: “I refuse to even participate in this conversation. We don’t even need to think about food this way”. Feel free to keep reading past that, but I will only be talking about the first portion.*

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/05/the-puritanical-approach-to-food/392030/

Stealing Buddha's Dinner pt. 1 response

Reading Response 1:

Stealing Buddha’s dinner pt. 1

Throughout the first portion of the memoir, Bich Minh Nguyen makes a point to express to the readers the significance of food. Growing up with little to nothing, food became a delicacy to her and her sisters. The significance of food, especially fruit, to Bich and her family members is actually beautiful to me; how they set the fruit at Buddha’s and the ancestors’ altars and how the girls saved the fruit for as long as they could. Simply the fact Bich explains that the fruit was associated with the altar in general proves how important and special the fruit was within their family. The fruit symbolizes the bitter-sweetness of their family coming to America and having hope for the future while trying to maintain their vietnamese identities. I love the way in which Nguyen describes the food she sees, smells and tastes. One of my favorite lines in the memoir is when she is talking about the first birthday cake she has ever seen; “It was oblong, covered in rosettes and pink and white frosting, a vision of wealth and excess. The sugar flowers quickened my heartbeat, hinting at a whole new level of sweetness.” I specifically admire the way she draws parallels between how she senses the food and other aspects of her life/ internal conflicts.

Later on throughout the memoir, the love and significance of fruit is still present, but grows to become a love for certain types of food, American food. At this point in the story, Bich’s love for food seems to turn into the desperation of trying to fit in and become what she calls “normal”. She says “Because I could not, because our household did not, I invested such foods with power and allure” to depict that American food would always be better in her eyes. She felt as if she would never quite be an equal in terms of the food in her house or the thoughts in her mind. She wanted to fit in so badly that she viewed American foods a normality and something that had the potential to separate her from her peers and reminded her everyday of what she was missing. She also uses food to depict her unhappiness.

Bich discusses how when Rosa made the children ask before taking snacks, and set stricter rules within the house, she felt unhappy. Although this incident doesn’t seem like it would have much significance, it really did play a role in Bich’s childhood. Rosa’s character throughout the memoir never quite seems to understand Bich or the other members of her family. There definitely seems to be a huge barrier up between their lives as if they are living in very separate worlds.