The pace of life has accelerated to the point that I have often wondered whether people can actually sit down and enjoy a good meal whether they are dining out or eating in. In 2012, when I was teaching at a university in Bangkok, on a Saturday evening I attended a classical concert where there was an elegant café. As I had arrived early, I decided to sample the food being served. Surprisingly, I noticed that many of the couples were staring at their cell phones, not talking with whomever they were with and certainly not taking the time to enjoy whatever each had ordered on the menu. Has Thailand, a place where food is adorned, allowed the smart phone to replace what is dining is all about? I sighed to myself: “Is this the new normal?”
Since that time, the once cherished time set aside for dining and discussion has appeared to have been superseded by the multitude of distractions elicited by cell phones. I find myself no different than the many others that have succumbed to the accoutrements of modern life where food had become secondary to what is going on in the moment. So, when I traveled to Bangkok to play some golf, visit with friends and just relax, I made a conscious decision to take my time about eating. I made an effort to become familiar with the many condiments and spices Thai food presents. Far away from home, without being swept under by modernity, I began to taste the food in a way I rarely experience. The last dinner I had, while in Thailand, consisted of Thai spaghetti with an assortment of clams, shrimp, mussels and other fish mixed into the dish. Indeed, it was yummy.
At the airport, early in the morning, I had enough time to buy a breakfast. The food was better than typical airport fare, as I was in Thailand, though not particularly great. At the next table, however, I watched how a young woman, more than likely Thai, went about partaking of the meal she was served. She had five or six different spices in front of her. With tender care, she took her spoon (the main utensil in Thailand is the spoon) and slowly sliced her rice and then applied a few spices to this portion mixing it with both spoon and fork before tasting it. I felt entranced in the manner by which she prepared each bite of food she took from her spoon. This same treatment of rice mixed with the condiments and the chicken or meat on the side of the dish repeated itself. It was as if the spoon was the leading piece in a concert with this woman conducting the instruments in a sophisticated manner before allowing the morsel of food to enter her mouth. The combination of patience and skill this woman showed in devouring, a not particularly gourmet breakfast, absorbed me to the point that I didn’t want to disturb her while she ate.
I am quite sure if she were with friends this woman would still enjoy the process of tasting and eating her food. But observing the way she went about eating made me realize that many of us in the modern world have forgotten that eating is more than just a need but, if we allow it, a great pleasure. The act of savoring one’s meal by allowing oneself to relax, setting aside any and all distractions, will add to the total enjoyment of the food. Indeed, taking a time-out from the rapidity of everyday life is an important prerequisite to fully enjoy one’s repast.
Dr. Bernard F. Natelson 