Five Borough Food Talk

I had no idea what to expect going into this food talk. Would we taste food? What specifically about Jewish food was going to be discussed? Although those questions were answered once the panel discussion was over, I still left in a sort of confusion—and I actually understood most of what they were saying! I was just imagining what the others in our class thought; they must have suffered through an hour and a half of confusing jargon and seemingly humorous things that were not very funny at all.

The content itself was also slightly unsatisfying. Coming from a Sephardic Jewish upbringing, I felt slighted by the discussion. Everything was focused on Ashkenazi food—with the one exception of the passing Moroccan food as representative of all Middle Eastern foods. Middle Eastern food is highly expressive of an extremely rich and diverse culture that those exposed to any sort of Judaism seem to look over. That was one of my primary complaints that I had with the talk. Another significant one was the way they referred to everything in the past tense: it all had a nostalgic feel to it, as if everyone in the audience (who, by the way, were all secular Ashkenazi Jews over the age of 50) was remembering their grandmother’s attempt at keeping Judaism alive in the home. It was all so passé, a fond memory to look back on and smile. Hello! I wanted to yell. I’m a practicing Jew sitting right here! I still eat Jewish foods, none of which were mentioned, and they are still extremely important to my identity. And what happened to kosher being a significant attribute to Jewish food? Apparently that’s not a thing anymore.

Aside my qualms, there was a question that I should have mentally addressed but didn’t: is this a form of art? The food talk didn’t seem to point to yes; well, it didn’t seem to occupy itself with that question. But irrespective of the talk, I think food can be, but it’s less obvious. Does the culture attributed to it affect its ‘art’ status? I think our society looks at culture with an artistic eye, that it’s more a style of art than a style of life—which begs the question: can a lifestyle be a form of art? I think there would be differing opinions based on those living the lifestyle and those merely observing it. Truthfully I don’t really know, but I think the discussion highlights some important facets of art beyond the walls of a museum—in the street, in one’s home, in one’s life. Or in a food talk about the seemingly outdated culture that was apparently once known as the Jewish food of the world.