PRESENZA - Rediscovering the Joy of Eating
Séquences panoramiques de l'exposition(QTVR)
Panoramic View

Photo - Rediscovering the joy of eating Photo: Steven Darby, CMC CD2004-0245 D2004-6110

Do you remember the space food of the late 1960s?
It was the era of the Apollo spacecraft and the first moonwalk. The world seemed to be propelled towards the future, destined to make light years of progress, continually pushing the limits of what was possible. We were told that the pills and dehydrated products consumed by astronauts were the food of the future. They contained, science assured us, all the essential protein, vitamins and minerals. It was also the heyday of fast food. Preparing and consuming food were becoming almost a waste of time.

Do you remember how old-fashioned the culinary traditions of the Italian immigrants seemed at the time? Making pasta by hand, stuffing olives the way they did in Ascoli Piceno, preparing zucchini flowers Sicilian style - it was all so time-consuming! And so many rules had to be followed to ensure that the flavour would be just right: the use of wooden spoons, earthenware dishes, a mortar and pestle instead of a food processor . . . Bring on the future!

But were those immigrants and their traditions really so out of touch with the modern world? Were they not just showing us another way to be modern: by exercising moderation, rather than taking off for the moon, setting limits on change so that the world would remain human? Now, several decades later, many of us see it that way and, like those immigrants, are rediscovering, preserving or reinventing a way of life that cultivates flavour and the joy of eating.