Glorious Food

Monday September 28, 2009

Food, glorious food

But Then Again with MARY SCHNEDER

I’VE just returned from a two-week assignment in Italy.

Although it was largely a working trip, I did manage to schedule some time away from my laptop, and my note-taking, and my recordings to enjoy all that my surroundings had to offer.

One of the most memorable moments of my trip saw me sitting alfresco, on the same street in Florence where Michelangelo’s statue of David can be found, enjoying a Ravioli di Magro and a glass of full-bodied red wine.

“It doesn’t get much better than this,” I found myself thinking.

“All this great culture, great food, great wine, great weather …” Perhaps a thesaurus at hand to give me an alternative for the word “great” might now give you a more accurate description of my surroundings, but everything sure felt great that day.

Another happy day saw me sitting in a client’s sun-filled garden, enjoying creamy lasagne, bruschetta and the sweetest tomatoes I’ve ever tasted and a glass of sparkling white wine – Italian Prozac, as I call it.

I enjoyed the lively company of two teenagers as my host pampered me.

After living on my own for six months, it was good to be with a family again – the great food just made it extra special.

Even on those days when I was working, I still managed to appreciate the Italian lifestyle.

Every morning found me in a bar around the corner from my office enjoying the company of a colleague, a frothy cappuccino and a cream-filled pastry. Workday mornings really don’t get much better than that.

I could go on, but I’m liable to get extremely hungry, wander off into my kitchen in search of sustenance and forget that I’m actually working. Such is the power of good food.

Of course, my gourmet trip came to an abrupt end as soon as I left Italian soil. There’s nothing like airline food, if indeed it can be called food, to bring you back down to earth, so to speak.

Despite my in-flight abstinence, I was painfully aware that I had some excess baggage in tow when I finally landed at Penang’s international airport – excess baggage that I couldn’t stow away in my fridge along with my stash of Italian cheese and salami.

My hedonistic stay in Italy had obviously taken its toll.

Of course, it didn’t help matters that my daughter, who is studying culinary arts at a college in Kuala Lumpur, had returned home for the long Raya break and was eager to pander to my every hunger pang.

After a sumptuous lunch, I slipped my jet-lagged body between crisp, virgin bed sheets and fell into a deep sleep, only to be woken by my daughter just before dusk.

It was time to get ready for her 18th birthday celebration. And what’s a celebration without good food?

“I’ve started so I’ll finish,” I told myself as I slipped into a loose-fitting dress. “My daughter’s birthday is more important than taking care of a few extra inches on my hips.”

Many of life’s other celebrations also revolve around food. There’s nothing quite like the pleasure I get from uniting with friends and family around a table to commemorate achievements, milestones and traditions.

For example, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a roast turkey; my birthday wouldn’t be complete without a dinner with the same two girlfriends who have celebrated with me every year for more than 20 years; and even the passing of a loved one calls for good food to comfort family and friends as they gather to remember a life just past.

When I’m feeling under the weather, food also features largely – I usually revert to the comfort food of my childhood.

On many occasions, I’ve sat down to a bowl of mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and followed by a cup of hot chocolate. Not a nutritionally sound meal, but it soothes me in a way that little else can.

I most certainly don’t live to eat, but my life would be a sadder place without the food I enjoy and the joy that comes from a shared meal.

The Star Lifestyle