reading 2: Babette's Feast

Culture and design are inextricably related. We are a product of our culture and society, and design is a product of us. One essentially does not exist without the other in some way. All cultures are different, and as so the spaces, music, art, clothes, people, food and just overall way of life are different too.  As a culture we have different needs, wants and influences than other places and designers react accordingly. I think traveling and experiencing other places is extremely important and valuable for this reason, to get inspired and be completely out of your element, to share and adopt other customs and ideas.

We watched a movie, Babette’s Feast, about two sisters living in a remote area of Denmark in the 19^th Century. They led a very simple lifestyle to say the very least, even their food was the same fish and bread day in and day out. They sat quietly and ate their modest meals, until years go by and their now live-in house keeper/ cook receives a large sum of money. She is French and instead of using her newfound fortune to go back to her old home she cooks an extravagant meal for them. She had previously been a chef at a fancy restaurant and she really made an evening out of it for the sisters and their guests. This is what people mean when they say there is a difference between just eating and dining. Dining is an experience, a time to come together and enjoy, not only the food, but also the company and the atmosphere. Many cultures treat mealtimes this way, not just the French. When I traveled to Italy and Spain I had dining experiences in both, it seemed to be more of a lengthy event with different food courses, wines, coffee and conversation. My family has always treated dinner this way when we’re all together and I don’t think enough of us really appreciate that time together as we should. It should be a time to catch up on the events of the day and appreciate the food, not sit in front of the T.V. or Internet like a vegetable on the plate. Most people have a T.V. in or within view of the kitchen, and a lot of places you go to eat out have T.V.s as well. Social media at this point is really taking away from the dining experience, maybe it can change but for now…