Extended Essay numero uno

The Way We Eat

The way we eat, as humans and more importantly as Americans, has changed drastically over the last few decades.  This isn’t because people have become busier and more disconnected from time (Horwitz, 42).  Technology has improved; ovens aren’t what they used to be, microwaves are more powerful, and even refrigerators are more spacious (Sobey, 77).  The kitchen is becoming bigger, and more possibilities are arising.  Even food in prison has become more sophisticated.  The ingenious preparation of spreads usually involves the use of a microwave oven, although elsewhere in the county jail system, in older buildings with limited electricity, the inmates must use hot water to “cook” their spreads (Cate, 18).  Even though food and our styles of eating have changed, it is my belief that the way we enjoy food hasn’t changed.  People have always used food as a means of socialization, why do men ask women on dates out to dinner? Why does a salesman take a client out to lunch?  If there is an enjoyable meal, chances are things will end up better.  A big part of experience of a meal comes from the atmosphere of the restaurant.  If there was a baby crying behind people dining, chances are they wouldn’t have too enjoyable of an experience.  The meal doesn’t only consist of the food; it consists of all the sensory information absorbed during this time, which helps make it more enjoyable.  Ultimately, enjoying a meal comes from a combination of the food, the atmosphere, and the sensory information recorded during the experience; those three factors, all working in unison create a dynamic food experience.

Like water, food is necessary for life; so for most humans, eating is an everyday occurrence.  Eating has become more than just a means of survival.  If people only ate to survive, there would be no variation in food, or more importantly in taste.  Food would all be uniform, and it would consist only to contain the nutrients, vitamins, proteins, calcium, and other things the body craves to be strong and healthy.  There would be no point to improving or changing the taste.  Food wouldn’t look visually appealing, or smell good.  It would probably just be some mix between a liquid and solid that a person would suck out of a futuristic tube.  It’s a good thing this is not the way the world works.  Food brings pleasure to many people, including myself.  I see food being used as a means of social interaction.  One could even say food is a large-scale icebreaker.  People might go out to eat in order to discuss something serious, something personal.  Men and women, or even men and men or women and women, go out to dinner dates all the time; it is a frequent occurrence.  During my study of a local restaurant, I observed this behavior.  This interaction does not only occur between intimates.  It occurs between friends, business clients, families, and even people who have never met before.  Food is an excuse to socialize: a means to interact.  When talking and conversing one can even take a bite to avoid answering something that wasn’t expected.  They can even talk about the food as a last resort if they run out of conversation topics.  Food is pleasurable, and in my opinion that pleasure might jog memories from deep within, that would stimulate conversation.  Having positive sensory information taken in could remind the subject of another time when they were also experiencing pleasure.  But it is not only the taste that makes a meal enjoyable; there are many other factors.

            One of these factors is the ambiance of a restaurant.  Ambiance is defined as the mood, character, quality, tone, atmosphere, etc., particularly of an environment or milieu. (Ambiance, 1) One of the most important words in that definition is quality.  A restaurant with a lot of soul, one with pictures coating the walls, smiling staff, and enjoyable music, will normally be said to have good ambiance.  I speak of a restaurant that is able to take the customers to a new place, where the restaurant becomes another world.  A classier establishment, with nice tables, comfortable chairs, maybe a live music performer, leather menus, and even a wine room, would also have good ambiance.  Ambiance isn’t something only a particular type of restaurant has, but it is something that an enjoyable restaurant will more likely than not, have. 

One restaurant that comes to mind, is a place called Butch’s Lobster Bar at the top of Snowmass Village.  Coating the walls are pictures and memorabilia of the restaurant’s past success.  There are also pictures of lobster and fishing related news.  Old newspaper clippings and faded photographs cover the walls of this restaurant.  By the front desk, there is a tank with giant lobsters, counting down the days until they hit the stove.  It is sad, but they are entertaining to watch.  Butch’s has a wide variety of seafood, and other fried foods.  The food isn’t the most gourmet, but that isn’t what the customer pays for.  They pay for the experience, the unique, memorable time they will be spending in the restaurant while they dine.  When I was younger, before our food came, I could entertain myself for hours looking up and down the walls.

There is no doubt that is it possible to go out to eat, at either a new or old place, and have a bad experience due to your surroundings, factors other than the food in front of you.  It has happened to all of us.  Maybe the lights were too dim and someone couldn’t read their menu, maybe the waiter or waitress was obnoxious and talked to the customers too much, maybe the music was too loud, maybe it was just not enjoyable and didn’t fit the customer’s tastes.  The examples are endless, and no matter how good the food, a bad atmosphere can ruin any meal.  Did I forget to mention the people at the adjacent table who decided to bring their infant to dinner, so he could scream and cry the entire time?  I’m sure you remembered that one on your own.  Reasons like these are why I say how much someone enjoys a meal heavily depends on outside circumstances.  The food may be the main attraction to the restaurant, but the experience is what makes it memorable or not.  The atmosphere inside the restaurant will heavily influence if the customer really enjoys it or not.  Although having great ambiance is not the only factor in determining if the atmosphere of a restaurant helps make it more enjoyable.

It also depends on whom the customer comes to the restaurant with.  “More often than not spreading is a social activity. “It’s like we bonding in here when we break bread with a spread,” says Kermit Saunders(Cate, 19).”  Spreads are a type of food developed by inmates in the San Francisco County Jail.  The restaurant stays the same, but people who eat its food and drink its wine will change.  One of my fondest memories is with my family on Christmas. It has become a tradition for everyone to gather at my grandparent’s house for a Christmas party.  My dads two brothers and their younger sister all bring over their respective spouses and children.  We set up two tables, one for the adults and the other for the kids.  My thirteen cousins and I always dine together.  It is standard for us to have ham, homemade cheddar mashed potatoes, some vegetable, cranberry gelatin, and hot bread rolls.  The rolls are everyone’s favorite part.  These hot rolls can be torn apart effortlessly as your eyes are almost forced to stare in amazement while your mouth begins to water.  Once ripped open, it is customary to apply a coat of butter for added flavor.  My one cousin Mike holds the family record of eating the most rolls.  We all love them, but he goes nuts.  Most people choose their seats based on whoever they want to sit next to, but I’m almost positive he tries to place himself closest to the rolls.  We dine in the confines of my grandparent’s house.  Handmade clocks from my Grandpa coat the walls, along with pictures and family memorabilia that is irreplaceable.  Golf is always on the television, and while it might put everyone else to sleep, my Grandpa loves it.  There is nothing more exciting to an old man that a fine game of golf.  Before dinner, we all crowd in the family room, catching up and conversing, sharing funny stories. After we eat, everyone goes away from the table for a while, during this time the women of the house gather in the kitchen to load the dishwasher and prepare for dessert.  My mother’s chocolate Texas cake is always everyone’s favorite.  We have cake with milk; everyone is shortly after put into a food-coma and retreats back into the living room to hangout. 

When I think about Christmas dinner, it is not just the delicious food that comes to mind.  Memories of spending time with all my cousins in my grandparents house emerge from somewhere deep in my mind, playing Ping-Pong in their basement, watching my Grandpa operate his model trains, opening presents in their basement, and my uncles all telling funny stories are the things I think of.  I think that due to the sensory use involved this exceptional meal, the events closely tied to it are that much easier to remember, and that much more unforgettable.  The rolls might be everyone’s favorite part, but it is because the funny story of Mike associated with them.  It is the conversation and the enjoyment of the time spent with those around you that really helps make a meal more memorable, or more enjoyable.  

If a more enjoyable meal is more memorable, what exactly makes a meal enjoyable?  It is my understanding that the absorption of sensory information will make anything more memorable.  Eating any meal, at a restaurant, or at your grandparent’s house will involve lots of sensory use.  At first someone might argue that taste is the only sense used while eating.  Actually, during a quality meal, all senses are used to their full extent.  Lets start with the most obvious, taste.  As soon as the food goes into the mouth, the then thousand taste buds in a human mouth go to work sending sensory information to the brain(How, 1).  It has also been said that 50% of taste is actually smell.  That’s another sense.  This would explain why hot food is generally more enjoyable than cold food.  Steam comes off the food, bringing with it the delicious smells of the dish.  Before the food even goes into the mouth, the nose, consciously or subconsciously, does its job in judging how it’s going to taste, by the smell.  Maybe simultaneously, the nose and the eyes work together.  From personal experience, I believe that a big part of a pricy meal at a nice restaurant is its presentation.  Judgments are immediately made of how the food will taste, based solely on its appearance.  Sushi is a food where appearance is extremely important.  If a roll doesn’t look good, chances are it won’t taste as good.  Once the food is seen, smelled, and tasted, it is also felt with the tongue.  Maybe also with the hands, depending on the eater’s manners and the food in front of them.  Temperature is a big part of this, food too hot can burn the mouth, and food too cold, or mostly drinks, can cause a brain freeze.  While the food is being eaten, it will more likely than not make a noise.  Potato chips are especially susceptible to this.  Carrots and chips will give a crunch.  Some people even judge their chips on the crunch it makes.  Or cheese by if it squeaks.  This sounds ridiculous, but it is completely legitimate and does actually happen.  By now the food has been seen, smelled, tasted, felt, and heard.  Weird to think that all five senses are used while eating, but it happens!  When these senses all experience something pleasing, there is no doubt it will cause the meal to become more memorable.  If there is a combination of good food, along with an enjoyable atmosphere, the eater will be left with more positive opinions of the meal as a whole.

Humans need interaction, and food helps facilitate that interaction.  It can range anywhere from a blind date to a causal lunch with a group of friends.  A good conversation will make the meal more interesting, and more enjoyable.  But remember, this can be overwritten by the inside of the restaurant and it’s workings.  A noisy environment can prevent conversation, making it difficult to hear whomever the customer may be conversing with.  It can also work in favor or the customers though; playing their style of music may make them more relaxed.  A professional, well-mannered waiter or waitress can make the experience more enjoyable, as he or she will cater to the customer’s needs or desires.  While all of this is going on the body absorbs the information through its five senses.  The ambiance of the restaurant leaves a strong impression on the customer’s memories.  The food is tasted and judged by its appearance.  The music playing is heard, and the temperature of the restaurant is felt all over the human body.  Favorable conditions will lead to more enjoyable information being received by the human brain.  In turn, this will lead to the customer thinking of the restaurant as a better place to eat.  These conditions will make their meal better.  It is because of the high sensory use that a good meal will be remembered over one that didn’t go as well.  Food may have changed, but the way we enjoy it has stayed the same.