The Unspoken Beauty of Food

I am a self-confessed gourmand. Good food has the indelible power to activate a certain kind of pleasure center (that maybe only sex can compete with). Many people have many complicated relationships, but I can vouch for the majority that the most convoluted bond of their life is with, well, food. 

Here are some notable food moments from my life that I constantly think about :

• The irresistible whiff of a vanilla cake on its way to being baked to a glorified beautiful crisp brown caramelised top with a fluffy white inside. 
• The pixelating sight of “tadka,” a hot translucent concoction of dried red chillies, cumin, and red onions in clarified butter dancing with a frenzy on a mouth-watering bed of plump lentils ready to be devoured.
• A quick greedy taste check of the sinuous curves of handmade pasta being sautéed in a cream silky enough to put to shame your beloved cocoa butter moisturisers.
• THE UNADULTERATED FEELING OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE (for the waiter of course) YOU ENCOUNTER WHEN YOUR ORDER ARRIVES AT A RESTAURANT.
• The scintillating affairs (or one-night stands) you have with dark, white, milk, crunchy, sticky, fruity, or any sort of chocolate for that matter.
• The animalistic urge to guzzle down a rich aromatic cup filled to the brim with freshly brewed tea (or coffee) the moment you wake up from your slumber.

NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION.

Ranging from instantly appealing aphrodisiacs and feel-good comfort foods to brutally boring salads and oatmeal, it’s a wonderful world. Love it or hate it, ignoring it is not an option. Every preparation has a story to tell and it’s an axiom that nothing tells the culture of a place better than the eating habits of its population. My fascination with food has never ceased and never will.

With all this being said, I know not everyone has the same relationship to food as I do. With splendor, comes darkness. Tangled up in all of this glory is the harsh reality of diet culture, eating disorders and complicated relationships with food. This is when food can get tricky, and people choose to break up with food and move on to habits that are unhealthy or simply out of their control. 

When the relationship between you and food gets complicated, give yourself the space to step back and assess. While it may be difficult, make conscious efforts to amend it before it’s too late and enjoy the days of gluttony along with abstinence with equal vigor. As they say, there will be good days and bad days!