If there is one thing that I am definite about- it is that I LOVE FOOD. I mean as a necessity, we all love food, but there is something more to my love. It was just in the time before I entered college that I really began to find my passion and joy of understanding the many facets that surround food. Because to me, food is more than just a need and something that is comforting. Food is exciting and engaging and educational if we just open our eyes.
My love of food was a slow growth over time- no one moment changed the entire way I had seen food. Like most people, I love cooking shows and baking competitions. I liked helping my mom in the kitchen by stirring the pot or cutting vegetables and decorating cookies with my grandma. But there has been one defining point in my journey for the love of food: technology.
YouTube grew and so did BuzzFeed; Netflix was a sensation in every household and Instagram was just the new normal. It was technology that showed me a whole new world to food and how unique it really is. Buzzfeed made Tasty: satisfying video clips of recipes being made from a birds eye view perspective. I had never really seen food as an art form or that it could be so unique. Tasty was just the glimpse. YouTube offered a whole new world in which to see food; the channel “Binging with Babish” made recipes from TV and movies. Andrew Rae’s channel introduced the quality of ingredients. He taught skill and techniques of making simple sauces and cooking meat.
Food TV series, too – not cooking shows or competitions, but a series that followed chefs and other fanatics around the world for the love of food. Series like Salt Fat Acid Heat introduced me to culture and food through the art of flavor. Host and chef, Samin Nosrat, traveled across the world as she explained (as the show is named) how fat, salt, heat and acid can make or break any dish. It was seeing Samin’s passion and connection with others over food that was so inspiring. This is not the only show: one of my favorite chefs, David Chang has two amazing shows, Ugly Delicious and Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner where David also travels around the world connecting with others who use food as a way to connect with the world and break down cultural barriers and stereotypes.
Food has the power to connect people across the globe; it has the power to bring them together and make things ok. Food is bigger and more powerful than I ever thought, and I must thank technology for opening up my eyes to a world I never knew existed. I am not sure what my life would be like without a deep appreciation for food. I may have never chosen the path of food science. I would never have the goal of culinary school and fingers crossed working at Bon Appetit. Go out and eat for the love of food!