Food Families

P2:

            In Geoff Nicholson’s article Eating White, he talks about a deep relationship created by the mother’s love for a “creamy” diet.  Throughout Nicholson’s life, his mother had been filling his diet with things like creamy mashes potatoes, cheese sandwiches on Mother’s Pride bread, and creamy dishes in general.  As a tribute to his deceased mother, he would recreate his mother’s favorite cheese sandwich with Cheshire cheese on white bread.  This simple act holds a unique and special bond between the two.  The father on the other hand was a man about meat.  He loved pork, beef, sausages, pies, and puddings.  White and creamy was not the primary target for his meals.  Certainly for Nicholson, food is more than a simple necessity of life.  It formed a stronger relationship within his family. 

            In Roy Ahn’s article Home Run, he talks about how his experience with two different food cultures has affected his life.  Only living in Korean for four months and then growing up as an American citizen played a roll in the way food affected him.  His parents kept the Korean culture by cooking Korean food as often as possible, but Ahn was more about American cuisine.  There was a clash of cultures in Ahn’s life.  However, if it weren’t for this clash, the way certain food has affected his life would have no significance.  His parents even had a separate refrigerator in the garage for only Korean cuisine.  Ahn’s parents never let his Korean heritage leave his life.  Later on in Ahn’s life, the things instilled in him by his parents were more noticeable.  He began cooking traditional Korean food, which shows how the relationship he had with food and his family. 

            The two articles both show how much food has played a roll in the lives of the authors.  Ahn and Nicholson both had a food family.  Both families created special bonds with their children because of food.  Obviously both families had different cultural backgrounds, but both had formed a strong bond with food.  In both articles, it is clear that food has a deeper and important meaning in each of the families.

My family has always been big believers of having family dinners almost every night.  The kitchen is always a fun place to be in my house.  I can relate more with Nicholson on the subject of creamy sauces, potatoes, etc.  My favorite dish as a kid was pasta with a “secret” cream sauce my mom would make and peas.  My mom will make this for me every once in a while and it always brings me back to my childhood.  My family is all about good eating.  I feel that the way I experience food that it will rub off on my children.  One day I hope to have family dinners every night with my family just like my parents did for me.