By Scott Mechura EBS FOOD COLUMNIST
It used to be we asked, “What’s for dinner?” Now the
question has become “Where are we having dinner?”
I have fond memories of Sunday supper, after church, at my
best friend’s house. The general scenario was that I would have breakfast with
my family before walking to church. Then I would walk home with my friend Dan
and his family, where I would have Sunday supper, Italian style.
And it didn’t end with the six siblings of wide-ranging
ages. Aunts, uncles and cousins arrived at the house like weekly
clockwork—never knocking of course—that was completely unnecessary.
For me, the warmth of my friend’s family and hospitality was
matched only by the entertainment I was witness to as most meals incorporated
some level of heated, emotional debate. They were Italian after all.
But that was the point: it was family time. And while family
time wasn’t always filled with stories of school science projects, baseball
practice or fishing, it was still a time of conversation and unity—something
that we are sorely lacking in the modern-day American home, generally speaking.
And while spending an extended period of time in a rural
French community outside Bordeaux while standing in as my best friend’s best
man, I was delighted to see that some families gather on a regular basis, with
very few exceptions.
Both lunch and dinner were respected
as a time when we collectively gathered and prepared the day’s meal. We sat at
a table, together, and conversed. Not speaking French did admittedly limit my
contribution to the conversations, nevertheless it was a generational social
interaction at its root. No one ever jumped up from their place the second they
set their fork down.
Today, we find ourselves with an increasing portion of the
population who would rather get their clothes off the computer, entertainment
at their fingertips, and their meals from a box—one with a whole lot of
packaging I might add.
Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and many others like them. I thought
we were supposed to be reducing our use of packaging. I’ve noticed on more than
one occasion that the very same individual who might attempt to shame me for a
Styrofoam container or a plastic straw is also a regular customer of one of the
aforementioned services. Talk about excessive packaging.
So the question is: “Are we getting lazier, looking for more
immediate results and satisfaction, or just too darn busy?” I would contend
it’s a combo meal, pun intended.
This country saw unbridled prosperity post-World War II. We
moved to the suburbs, bought cars, lawnmowers and Airstreams. We tried to
convey an image to the world that we were successful, tranquil, hardworking and
free. And along with that came mealtime as something greater than simply eating
in the kitchen before rushing to our next task—particularly dinner—it was where
we gathered.
But the dynamic of the American household was different
then. Typically only one parent worked, which allowed significantly more time
in front of the stove and at the market. Today, the average American spends a
little more than half the time we did preparing and eating meals as we did in
1965. And there’s probably nothing wrong with that, it just depends on what
else we are filling that time with.
Scott Mechura has
spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge
and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.
