The Taste track Of Your Life
It’s a little hazy but I remember tasting my first salt fish cake. This is a savoury snack brought from Caribbean, in this case St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to the UK. I remember the punchy flavours hitting me, it didn’t hold back but wow, did it taste good. I don’t remember initially telling my friends about it but I remember being a young teenager mentioning it to friends and them never having heard of it. It still happens now. In my opinion this is one of the best foody treats to come out of the Caribbean and an amazing addition to any gathering or party.
To quote Jarvis Cocker the lead singer of Pulp, “do you remember the first time?” The first time you tried your favourite food? Is your favourite food something you grew up with, a family favourite, something that dates back generations in your family? Or was it introduced to you later on in your life? Perhaps by a friend or a boyfriend or girlfriend. I still remember the first time I tried a Thai Green Curry. It was on the first proper, grown up date I went on in my late teens. More than the person I was on a date with, I remember tasting the Thai Green Curry and being hit by a barrage of flavours and sensations. Hot, sweet, salty. Tender vegetables, crunchy vegetables and somewhere in-between. I remember the guy I was with trying it and needing to drink a lot of water. Needless to say, he couldn’t take his spicy food. My love for Thai food remained in my life whereas the guy definitely did not.
I have so many moments like these. Memories where food played a part in making an event or occasion even more definitive or special. Sometimes the food itself may not be that amazing but the event is. When I went travelling a few years back to New Zealand I went sledging down white-water rapids and I did a skydive all in one day. Of course, these things were really incredible to do and I will always remember them. But after more than 10 years I still remember being absolutely ravenous for food when getting back to the hostel afterwards and being told that they only serve meat chilli or chips. I was too tired to go back out. I was annoyed because I didn’t really feel like either of those things. But I decided to have the chilli and I remember it was absolutely delicious and the perfect food to eat after you’ve thrown yourself into water rapids and out of a plane.
Food choices can impact your life greatly, if you’ve gone from being a meat eater to a vegetarian or vegan, what you cook, what your family cooks and even what restaurants you go to are impacted by your decision. Food can be the way to our hearts and show care and love for others, it can also cleanse and nourish our bodies, though if eaten in excess food could be a bad thing for our physical and mental health.
Like some people have music soundtracks to their life moments, I believe everyone has the food version, ‘a taste track’ – it’ll be there in the best of times and the worst of times. It's the fuel that keeps us going, it bonds us with others and is part of the lifeforce of being human.
Article by Andrea Lewis
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