By Luis Javier Álvarez Alfeirán*
Luxury restaurants, informal restaurants, street stalls, traditional cooks… The world of gastronomy is presented in different ways in the cultural panorama of societies. None can be judged by how it was established (there are street restaurants in the world awarded a Michelin star) but by its quality. They are all a reflection of the world in which we live and have to do with the processes that a person’s life experiences on a daily basis.
The haute cuisine or haute cuisine, as we know it today, that of elegant restaurants and traditions of classic service, originates in post-revolutionary France that, faced with the fall of the monarchy and consequently with the decline of the royal courts, society sought to get closer to that culture of culinary finesse, which until then I had only imagined, and perhaps, in some cases, dreamed of in an aspirational way; Added to this, the great palace chefs also needed to ensure their livelihood and found in this model the development and growth of their professional future. The social mirror was then reflected on the restaurant tables of the time, as has happened throughout history.
The restaurant business is a reflection of not only the economic conditions of a society, but also its social differences. In our country we find more street stalls every day that sell food, places established on the street without supervision of quality, hygiene or safety, but are they just a reflection of an unfavorable economy or do they also have to do with political reality and profitability? social that allows it? Likewise, restaurants whose average check reaches almost two thousand pesos per person are growing at the same time. Are they really worth it or are they seeking an idea of status and exclusivity? Isn’t this polarization a reflection of the Mexico we live in?
It is fascinating to understand the social aspect of gastronomy, its relationship with people and their political, cultural and economic activity. In gastronomy, the environment of citizens is reflected, from their deepest intimacy within the family, to their public showcase within restaurants.
Gastronomy always tells us about people; of their tastes, their traditions, their culture. It tells us about its values and its individual and collective reality; It can give us clues to their psychological processes (stress, depression, loneliness, anxiety, etc.). Many of the health problems that afflict the modern population have a direct relationship with diet and diet, in turn, has a direct relationship with the individual’s environment. We cannot dissociate this.
Understanding how we eat is understanding how we live, hence the importance of a gastronomic culture that must be included in the educational guides of nations, in all training processes starting from preschool age. We are not only talking about the duty to ensure food for all, not even about decent food (a term that normally refers to quantities and basic products), but about healthy gastronomy, which respects its origins and traditions, its products, its techniques, their social and cultural values. Doing so will undoubtedly result in a healthy society not only physically or mentally but also culturally and, therefore, will be conducive to developing an economy that is also healthy and in continuous development.
Culinary recommendation: Siembra Taqueria in Polanco. A reflection of social fusion between the street taco and the gourmet.
Contact:
*Luis Javier Álvarez Alfeirán, MA, is director of Le Cordon Bleu-Anáhuac.
Mail: (email protected)
Twitter: @DirectorLCBMx
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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