Are You Feeling Pâté The Family?

We like to say that every picture tells a story. Does the same ring true for our food?

 

I was recently in London. While eating my dinner in the swanky bar lounge of the hotel I was staying in, I overheard bits of conversation from the table across from me. One woman was talking about her experience in working the farmer’s market. She was saying that her normal results for a day was selling around 15 – 20 pâtés. Turns out she was the girlfriend of the owner’s son. She then became the son’s wife. She said once she told people that her father-in law made the pâté then her sales, on average, doubled. When one of her dinner mates asked why that was so, she responded that people like to feel a connection to the person making the food.

 

I thought that was an interesting concept. Do I exhibit that behavior? I have to say that part of why I like the farmer’s market is because you feel closer to the food, a connection to the source. Do we somehow believe that the food will be better? Do we somehow think the food is more natural or healthy because of the perceived connection to the maker/grower? Do we create a story about the food, making it more fun or intriguing to eat it because we feel a connection?

 

Thoughts to chew on…