Dear Blog Readers,
I would like to invite you all to a speaking event taking place next Tuesday, January 19th at the North Creeks Event Center of Cascadia Community College. The Creative Arts Club is proud to present Molly Wizenberg, local Seattle Author (Books and blogs) and owner of Delancey's will be reading selected passages from her book beginning at 4:30pm. There will be light refreshments for this event.
This event is free and open to all, so if you come bring friends! This is sure to be a great event, and did I mention it is free!
I hope to see you there.
Joshua
The event went over really well. The VP from Cascadia was in attendance and there were lots of questions from the audience. There was even some home baked goods that other members from the Creative Arts Club made and brought (pumpkin cookies, some Italian twist cookies, and some dangerously good pumpkin bread).
ReplyDeleteDuring part of Molly's presentation, she was talking about how when she first wanted to get into the cooking business her brother asked her or told her to first at least get a job at a restaurant to get an experience of what it would be like. So she did, but it turns out she did not enjoy it as much as she thought she would. In fact, I think she hated it. The separation from the people eating, the lack of a communal experience (my interpretation of her words) was missing. Later in the evening an audience member asked her if she was going to open another restaurant what type it would be. She said there would be next restaurant, but if Brandon and her were to open another it would be place with long tables, groups seated together, and a seasonal rotating menu. The atmosphere would be for good times and jubilation, with old friends and plenty of people around to make new friends with. The social aspect of eating would be nurtured just as much as peoples bodies would be. A friend pointed me in the direction of an article in the City Arts Magazine written by Michael Hebb entitled "Eat Dinner with Strangers" and what Molly was speaking about reminded me about this article. They both wanted to enjoy the social communal experience of eating with others, to create bonds and enjoy the experience of the group.
I could not agree more, cooking is fun, but I don't do it just to cook. I do it so friends will come share time and their lives with me. I crave and hunger social interaction more than some old recipe to make. My soul needs food just as much if not more than this sack of skin and bones I call my body.
Then, for some strange reason, I started thinking about pot lucks, and how they might or might not be the experience I assume I and others like me crave. With a potluck, everyone is expected to participate if they show up to eat, that means prepare something to eat and bring it. It also could mean, in the right setting, that coalitions could form either for or against someone and their food, boundaries and separation begins to seep in. Soon, the communal event is corrupted and something is lost. I think this is not the case if someone, a person or a place, is hosting and preparing all the food, you and some friends go to eat there and meet and enjoy the company of new people who obviously share similar taste as you. The potential for a coalition being created in the second environment is in my opinion much less. And I think this is why potlucks are hit or miss, and why dinner parties and social interactive dining spots will succeed in the market. We all just want to share a good conversation and maybe learn something new over a good plate of food.