One of the easiest ways into understanding a person, or a culture, for that matter, is through their rituals related to food. It’s been said many times that the way to the heart is through the stomach, and that’s certainly the case. But there’s much more than that, even.
Today, contemporary culture is often described as being lacking in ritual. If that is true to some degree, the way the same culture relates to food undermines the argument. When it comes to dining, the rituals and accoutrements are very complex. Because they are a part and parcel of how people express themselves every day, many of these elements are unconscious.
In the same way one would expect to see white linen tablecloths, and menu covers at a fine restaurant, the objects related to food are indeed like ‘anthropological artifacts .’ That they are still in use doesn’t make them any less so, but perhaps it’s more difficult to read them as such.
People do expect certain things to indicate that this particular dining experience is better than any other. Those artifacts are never mere symbols that make suggestions, but are in fact, clues toward the magnificent feast that is to come. Cultures read these signs, and they plan their social lives accordingly, and one object can indeed make all the difference in the world.
