What ways is food a personal experience and in what ways is it a combination of quality ingredients and cooking expertise? Which do you think is more important?
The articles written about the Grove and KFC shows a difference in Madeleine and Simon’s perspective. The idea of food being a personal experience is clearly shown in these articles. Simon clearly states his knowledge for quality ingredients and cooking expertise but Madeleine, on the other hand, shows her adoration for KFC through cheapness and efficiency.
I am guilty of not understanding fine dining and am someone who drives out in the middle of the night to go get wicked wings. The idea that personal experience of food is a combination of quality ingredients and cooking expertise, in my opinion, is false. Personal experience can be sourced from other parts of our personal lives. Our past, upbringing, and inclination to homemade cooking are just some factors that play a role in making food a personal experience. I would argue that neither cooking expertise and quality ingredients are more important but the story that the food tells us.
We can see the way that food is a personal experience is all dependent on the person. For me, some food places hold a special meaning to us even if they have nothing to do with quality ingredients or cooking expertise. In high school, there was a Burger King near my school. Burger King is my least favourite fast food chain. But every week my friends and I would still go. Not because we liked Burger King but because we made many memories there that it was a personal experience for us.
Article Mentioned:
The critic and the rookie go to The Grove, one of Auckland’s fanciest restaurants
