food life story

So, I’ve been thinking about the many meanings of ‘culture’ as it relates to a Food Life Story.

There is the history/culture/ethnicity of your biology, which is often linked to how closely your family connects with that ‘family’ history. If your grandparents were immigrants and live with or near you, they have probably been a part of your FLS: abuelas, avós, babcias, oumas, bubbies, Obaachans, mormor or nonnas that did the cooking for larger family gatherings, (or parents or fathers or aunts and uncles…) Or your family’s choice to live in what’s called ‘an ethnic enclave’, to buy food from or eat in certain restaurants.

There is the culture of the historical time period when you grew up; for me, 1950’s America. When the PFIC and ‘Mad Men’ were convincing women that they didn’t like to cook and that (initially) canned food was the answer to their prayers. Or was your family cook sticking with ‘from fresh’ or from scratch cooking?

And then there is the dominant culture in your world as you grow up and begin to feed yourself (and maybe others), especially in the late 20th and early 21st century. Did the pace of life pick up and take out become the norm? Meals to reheat from a market or getting meals delivered to your door? Did a single social life or long work hours lead to eating out a lot? What about the cultural norm of your friends, coworkers and neighborhood… is anyone a ‘foodie’ who loves to cook or just a ‘foodie’ who wants to hit the hottest new places and photograph their food for Insta?