foodie phobias

Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" episode in Spain struck a chord with me. At one of Spain's most progressive restaurants, he is offered two menus: "Control" and "Surrender." He chooses "Surrender" - and says "Cooking is about control...eating is about surrender."

Admission: I might be a little bit of a control freak in the kitchen. (Read: I have major issues). But until I heard Bourdain say it, I hadn't thought of it that way. It's a known fact among my close circle of friends that my foodie phobias and quirky eating habits are endless (i.e.: will not eat paella, the meats fight; will not eat ground beef in public places, surface area of raw meat seems too risky). Worst of all of these is that I have a hard time eating at friends' houses--even though I make them eat at my house all the time. I don't know, really, when this started, or even why. But it did, and it's sad.

Until today, I thought I was more or less alone in these feelings (general guilt for fear of said friends thinking I think they're incapable -- I swear, not the case, I'm just weird...). The following article poses the idea of communal-ish cooking in the name of economy and convenience (and local products! and sustainability! or something!) ANYWAY, it set off a chain reaction on the interwebs which I identified with. For your time-wasting/human interest pleasure, here are the stories:


The Ethicurean: Learning to Share, "Dinner at your Door"

"The concept is that if four families split the workload of four nights of cooking, so that only one family cooks each night, then each family will benefit. The family whose turn it is to cook may expend extra effort on their co-op cooking night than they would when cooking for themselves, but each family will gain three days of luxury time and the benefit of homemade meals delivered to their doorstep."

...That post sparked this skeptical response from Mark Bittman, NYT Food Columnist:

New York Times: "On Cooking Together"

"These days, people who are interested in cooking have a better sense of what’s good and what’s not. But I still think cooking is best learned and executed by a single person, or maybe a couple, and that there is no way that a group of, say, four families –- unless they’re exceptionally close and well-suited to each other –- could possibly cooperate long-term on a project like providing cooked meals for each other regularly."

...which sparked this Jezebel response!

Jezebel: "When A Food Control Freak's Worst Nightmare Becomes A Reality"


"The reality sounds...messy. Beyond vaguely frightening notions of commune-style dumpster-diving (which I'm very sure has nothing to do with the actual book), such concepts strike fear into the heart of the kitchen control freak. To such, ahem, people, there is nothing more frightening than being at the whims of another's tastes and palate."

"And to me, my bowl of oatmeal, my cup of soup, my dinner are practically sacramental: one area over which I can exercise my own tastes and whims."

Yeah...well, neuroses love company, right? Heh. Anyway, I do feel really bad about being a control freak in the kitchen, and I am making an effort to relinquish these tendencies. So, I apologize to my friends if I've made you feel like a lesser chef. I want to be better, and as Sadie at Jezebel concludes:

"[W]e are obviously the ones who need exactly this sort of thing: relinquishing control, learning to share, growing and changing with the aid of freer spirits."

To my friends: I hereby resolve to be more open to new kitchens, less prone to declare meats fighting, and freer with my praise of your many many skills.