Food As A Cultural Bridge!

By, Chef Jim

As many readers may know, in addition to our Personal Chef service, I also oversee operations of a nearly decade old BBQ Catering company.  Additionally, I have been active on the Competition BBQ Circuit as a Team Captain and I am a ‘Certified KCBS BBQ Judge’.  SO…I know a thing or two about slow cooking meats and other stuff (think Cheesecake) over wood flames and smoke.

I bring this up because it was never really my intent to be a Competition BBQ Chef nor a ‘Pitmaster’ in any sense per se, I was simply looking for some great BBQ and there was none to be found in Central PA at the time.  At least, not the kind that I was looking for!  As a tertiary benefit of learning to cook ‘Competition Quality’ BBQ, I also have learned a great deal about the history of American BBQ, which was a dying art when I started MY BBQ journey and has recently experienced an incredible resurgence in popularity thanks to food TV.

Just as with BBQ and many other ‘indigenous’ cuisine styles here in the US, there are many culturally significant, historically important cuisines around the world.  It is a tremendous way to learn about people and their cultures to immerse yourself in the cuisines of their areas.  I spent over a year learning to make a variety of Mole’s from many of Mexico’s regional hot spots for it.  I am still working my way around the spices, seasonings & cooking methods of Morocco and looking forward to my next great adventure which I believe will be India and its curries!

You don’t need a formal agenda or a cooking school to learn about any given cuisine, you simply need a plan!  Do your homework online and find the areas of interest to you.  Read reviews of cookbooks and look for those that are instructional more than simply recipes, pick the best and read through them.  Choose recipes and cook them until you’ve got it dialed in and then onto the next recipe.  Learn about the people who make and eat the food and why it is prepared, seasoned and cooked (if it’s cooked) the way it is!

I have long said that I truly believe the world would be a far better place if we were to all sit down and eat a meal together!  Food is a necessity, yes…but it is a catalyst as well!  It can bring people together and build bridges and there are few better ways to get to know someone than breaking bread with them!

Enjoy your Tuesday and make this a GREAT week!