Cooking Up Conversation

 

When I first began, Religion in the Kitchen, by Elizabeth Peréz, she began the book by speaking on how food is not the only thing produced in the kitchen, but also religion and conversation. She even went as far as to speak about how topics such as gender, sexuality, and poltics are so connected to our cooking. I immediately resonated with this, as my father and I are the cooks in our house and it is something we always do together, partly because we love to cook, but also for the company of each other. My dad and I probably have the deepest conversations when we cook together; always brainstorming how we could make the world a better place and speaking on gender and identity issues. The most I have talked to my parents about my experience about being queer has been over cooking, as it feels like a more safe space than any, surrounded by amazing aromas that bring a sense of safety and the ritual of chopping or stirring brings with it its own security. Looking at this, I can see how this is can be both a religious and cultural experience, as ritual beings emotions and feelings of security and safety, which allows us to feel more emotions than we might not normally feel as open to sharing. 

Perez’s main argument is that rituals in cooking can bring with it religious and cultural experiences through repetition or conversation that occurs in the kitchen. I particularly found it interesting when she spoke on the preparation of ashés how the separation and cleaning of utensils and bowls have its own religious practice; “…prevent contact between the ashés of hierarchically, spatially, and temperamentally divergent orishas through practices like deep-cleaning pots between each successive use and using color-coated utensils for each orisha’s ashé (90).”  This made me think of even just the simple preparation of meat, in general, has its own rituals and could be seen as a religious experience. I think this relates to the micro-practices that Perez speaks about how these “small” skills or actions that can be so easily overlooked, but when slowed down and appreciated makes the process of cooking a spiritual one. As we spoke about in class, in JBK’s video of him in Market Basket picking out green beans, is considered a micro practice. This makes me think of the holistic nature of gardening and the whole concept of farm to table and how this is religious in itself. Reading this book has given me new knowledge and awareness of my cooking and the small steps and rituals I take such as peeling, chopping, washing dishes, and how altogether, it creates not only amazing food but conversation and experience.