Notes on the Table
A personal research process about the sensory and visual universe of culinary experiences.
Food brings me a great deal of pleasure. Good food, I mean – wholesome, cooked with passion, freedom, and inventiveness. I’m sure many people could say the same. What I’m trying to explore now is what makes some meals extraordinary experiences for me.
My relationship with food was extremely difficult during childhood. Mealtimes inevitably turned into conflicts with the adults around me, as I had little appetite but was forced to eat. Because of this, I remain sensitive to conflictual energy happening at the table.
In high school, I could go days without feeling the need to eat much at all. I should add that I’ve suffered from migraines since I was three or four years old, with severe symptoms — most notably intense pain and nausea — sometimes multiple times a month. Between the ages of 14 and 17, the migraines nearly disappeared, but they returned later on.
Around the age of 18, my life circumstances changed, and I began to enjoy meals occasionally, especially when I felt comfortable with or excited by the people around me.
Today, I am more demanding than ever (even if I often keep it to myself) when it comes to food quality, though I still have my guilty pleasures. Beyond taste, I’m deeply drawn to the visual side of food: table settings, tableware, preparation, leftovers, and so on. I photograph them whenever I can, using digital and analog cameras, as well as my phone.
My hope is to find meaning in this journey with food, through the difficulties and the pleasures it has offered me so far. I’ll explain more about the process, list resources and write thoughts along the way.
This Substack is not aimed at lecturing you on anything, offering advice, recipes or solutions, therapizing you or telling you what is right or wrong. It is a deeply personal research process and nothing more.
P.S. In the photo: spaghetti with tomato sauce and a few drops of basil mixed with oil and salt.
