Food and Nostalgia - Of the Past, Present and Future

Italy is a country rooted firmly in tradition. Nostalgia pervades the

modern times for what was timeless and romantic in the authentic Italian

identity. In the gastronomical field, Italy’s culinary culture can be found to be

changing and evolving in the cuisines and recipes of various time periods.

Through their personalized memories and experiences, the chefs lead the

path of change, not only utilizing tradition as the foundation of innovation

but also creating new cuisines upon traditional methods and recipes.

Tradition is foundation, developed by the common denominator found

between personalized and unique experiences and practices. Rather than ob-

jective, it is subjective to the human factor that is laced through every fea-

ture that is preserved through situations of change. As modern life becomes

more subject to change and “corruption”, tradition becomes a source of se-

curity to draw upon a defined identity; the human mind often takes comfort

in what is consistent. It is the physical manifestation of identity. Often seen

in opposition to innovation, it is to my opinion that tradition is instead the

foundation of innovation. As modern means and methods evolve through

time, tradition becomes the basis to build and evolve.

As a country that takes significant pride in its food culture, traditions in

the culinary culture include both the recipes and methods of what was done

right through tries and fails. What remains consistent in such culture are not

necessarily the recipes but the methods of cooking. Each time period comes

with its own focus on health, taste, expense, and convenience, each factor

affecting the consumers’ decisions on food and cooking. Take for example

the 21st Century’s focus on organic ingredients and convenience. For the for-

mer, it sacrifices expense for health, with the fancier and more authentic

restaurants promoting their choice of organics. For the latter, cookbooks

have shown increasing focus on time; the required time is measured in min-

utes and the required work is evaluated in details by the author. This empha-

sis came to play with the increasingly busy lifestyles of the modern genera-

tion. Thus, recipes conform to these factors. From traditional recipes stem

healthier means of achieving the same results, quicker processes, and more

convenient means. However, what are preserved through time are the meth-

ods and steps that make up the basis of a recipe. While taste is unique to

each individual, recipes find a common factor behind what tastes “good”.

The evolution of Italian cookbooks is strongly correlated with the

changes of modern life, methods, advances and ideals. At its beginnings in

the 1950’s, the target audience was directed toward educated women. From

the 1970’s as cookbooks and tastings became more of a commodity, tradi-

tional cuisines are popularly described as “authentic”. Authenticity came to

describe things that are uncorrupted by modern ideals of convenience, frag-

mentation, and health. While the target audience remain to be women, cook-

books emphasize on the familial setting for women as housewives. Even

while that concept became outdated in the 21st century, cookbooks continue

to revere tradition in its adherence to pictures of the family dinner table,

crowded markets, and traditionally dressed people. However, throughout

these periods, cookbooks have continued to act as a romantic escape from

the present back to what is often revered as a “simpler” and “better” past. In

a way, this sense of nostalgia strips away the negative elements of memory

and tradition to remember only its romantic aspects of family, simplicity, and

enjoyment. What became different in its evolution is its growing focus on the

subjective experiences of the author. From simple, descriptive paragraphs,

modern cookbooks are far more personality-driven to be distinguished

amidst a library of cookbooks and online recipes. “They've become more as-

pirational, incorporating lifestyle, not just recipes. Eat like this, live like this,

throw dinner parties like this,” says owner of Omnivore Books on Food, Celia

Sack. Cooking becomes more subjective to experience and memories, espe-

cially with those famed chefs people often adore on the television.

In food, nostalgia is the ribbon that connects the past with the present

in associating unique combinations of the five senses with strong memories.

Of the past, food is memories. In the present, food is of the five senses. Each

unique combination in the moment brings forth a complexity of emotions.

The strongest of which ties to the past: nostalgia. As indicated earlier, cook-

books provide a means to connect with nostalgia. In viewing it as an “es-

cape” from the present, nostalgia is often toward an idealized version of the

past. Through the interviews I have conducted from the various chefs in

Rome, I am often given a tour back to their childhood upon reminiscence.

They would speak of family and simplicity, painting a picture of a peaceful

farmland with a perfect family. Recognizing the existence of memories in

these chefs’ creations, the Petronilla Project has an aim in bringing together

communities to join in on the cultural exchanges with food as their vehicle.

One of their projects include harmonizing antagonistic communities through

the exchange of cookings and traditions - of which include organizing a meal

cooked by Roman Jewish and Palestinian women to serve as a vehicle of

peace.

“Italians are very stubborn,” claims Ornella de Felice, “They will always

say that the dessert their grandparents made are better than that of the best

chefs.” If it came down to a comparison of taste, chefs who were trained and

experienced in Italian cuisine would no doubt take the prize. However, it is

the memories associated with the meals prepared by “their grandparents”

that play into the stubbornness of a culture that takes special pride in food.

Traditional recipes passed down through time are often recreated during

family gatherings on holiday seasons. From the Voice of New York, Barbara

Raccagni takes down a “recipe of memory” of a “Grandma Maria”, whose re-

lationship with food revolves around the history of Italy from the hardships of

war to the economic boom. Long passed away, Grandma Maria’s recipe as

well as the memories associated with it is recreated through a contest where

both aunts and nephews come together to determine who could best repro-

duce the recipe true to its original. While the modern generation could no

longer find such roller coaster-like bonds with certain tastes and smells, it

finds nostalgia in the unfamiliar but exciting memories of those that came

before them. With it, it too creates the generation’s own special bond with

the romanticized version of the past.

In my research, cooking has often been compared in metaphor to

dance; in the latter, ballet serves as foundation for various forms of dance

while in cooking, traditional methods serve as the base for creativity to build

upon. Ornella de Felice, notable chef at Coromandel, compared ballet to pop

dancing - if one learns the former, one would have established the base to

practice the latter. She sets ballet as the foothold of dance, just as I will set

the foothold of Italy’s culinary food culture on its traditional recipes. The

kitchen becomes a laboratory, and the traditions and recipes become its

chemicals. From practice and knowledge, people stem from that foundation

in creating modern recipes with modern ingredients and technologies.

Between chefs and customers, a mutual communication and exchange

is established with the customers’ orders and the chef’s choices in the cook-

ing process. The customers’ choices and decisions often reflect past experi-

ences and memories. For example, Loredana Santarelli, a chef at

Velavevodetto Al Quiriti, compares people who order oxtails as opposed to

people who order steak. As a restaurant that presents traditional Roman

cuisines, those that pay visits to it order oxtail to experience the traditional

Roman dish. From these choices, Santerelli communicates back with the

dishes she present to her customers. A chef does not become a chef by read-

ing, but instead becomes one in the kitchen. However, while the media glori-

fies chefs as V.I.P.s, the career choice requires a person to be down-to-earth

and reminiscent. Each chef cooks based on their individualized memories

and experiences, following the unfathomable experiences of the five senses.

Each cuisine promote and preserve a particular version of the Italian

culinary heritage and each chef along with the restaurant have a responsibil-

ity in being true to that heritage. While passion is a strong element behind

cooking, there is also the burden of responsibility in being true to the ethics

of the process. From selecting the ingredients to creating the cuisine, a chef

is responsible in communicating the role of ethics in their culture. Ethics can

often be traded for convenience and expense. On that topic, Santarelli ex-

plains the complex process of ensuring the best quality ingredients to com-

municate her take on the Italian culture to her customers using high-quality

ingredients.

From the memories of the past and the sensations of the present, peo-

ple recreate, improve and forge upon the basis of tradition. Memories pave a

path for people to follow down but the path becomes endless as individual-

ized experiences and memories extend that path. Cookbooks are a way to

pass down the story beyond the recipe. The way a recipe changes follows the

way a chef adheres to cultural changes; from a recipe, its methods, and its

choice of ingredients, one can find the transition of lifestyles through time.