This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.

It is the title to a song from the 1940’s by Arlo Guthrie, with words that resonate on today’s society.  The title in itself is telling us that we are a community of people.  At the foundation of our society we are all Americans, and unless you are Native American chances are your family heritage lies in some other country.  My family was originally from Germany, coming to the United States in the beginning of the 19^th century, and now I am a fourth generation American.  Not German-American, but American. 

Defining a country is the culture of the society within it.  So far we have been defined as a nation of fast-addicted solo eaters, but all that is about to change.  New Orleans has one of America’s oldest culinary traditions.  So engrained into the fabric of our culture, that at the world’s premiere culinary institute, two days were dedicated to learning the techniques which were invented in New Orleans, America is developing technique.

The next generation of American cooks and chefs will bring together some of the rich traditions which have started to take form across the country.  Our nation is reaching the point where indigenous cuisines, are being formed by the unique diversity of its population.  Yankee, New England, Piedmontes, Low Country, Floribbean, Gulf Coast, New Orleans French-Creole, Cajun, Tex-Mex, Southern California, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, Middle America, just to name a few of the different regional flavor profiles beginning to take shape.  Soon enough, eating local will be cheaper than the grocery stuff.  Rosemary costs four dollars in the supermarket, but can be found all over the city for free.  Just keep your eyes and mind wide open with maybe some shades, because our culinary future is bright America…eat it up.

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land, This Land is OUR Land.

On Food in Our Times

            As we progress in terms of business and education, the quality of life that we maintain for ourselves becomes very localized.  We know where and how we want to build our day, and we build it.  Different people will choose different hobbies and pastimes, which results in a gap between an individual and their kinfolk.  It becomes almost an imperative to find common ground to bridge the gap and re-establish the bonds we should be sharing with our neighbors.

            So that raises the question of how we bring people back together.  In order to answer that question you find something that we all have in common.  What do we, as humans, need?  It is a simple question with an answer that is as profound as your level of commitment.  I say nourishment and what do you think?  Do you think of freeze-dried ramen noodles with salt flavoring packets?  Do you think of fancy restaurants that charge more than you’re worth for an item whose name the average American cannot even pronounce?  Do you simply think food while imagery fails you?  The level of mysticism that surrounds the dining environment is such that we are more entertained by the cluttered wall of an Applebee’s, than the honest surroundings of a local restaurant run by honest people with no corporate say so.  But this isn’t about bashing the “man”.  This is about taking that mentality over by putting the power to choose in our own hands.  Is the only counterpoint to the corporate restaurant’s inferior quality a miniscule amount of food that costs an arm and a leg?  Is it possible to offer an enlightened approach to food in our times that revolves around accessibility without sacrificing quality and commitment?

            Any revolution should be treated like a flame.  In a flame’s infancy it can be put out by the slightest gust of wind.  However, if the flame is allowed to grow, it can eventually consume everything in its path.  We are building a fire that needs to be tended.  In order to tend this fire, we need networks with like-minded individuals.  As the network and philosophy behind it grows, so too does its influence.   We will watch as the quality of life shoots up in a positive direction for people who, before we began, believed themselves too poor for it.  We will watch as those who have become set in their ways discover new joys because of better options that present themselves readily.  And we will break our backs carrying not only the common man, but the ground from under his feet into a new age of food without him even knowing that he went for a ride.  And he will thank us and we will smile and say YoBreaux.

Brendan Costello