Coming to the Table: The Great Equalizer
Eating together helps build understanding and strengthens the bonds between people. After all, eating at a table means both eating and talking. It can foster an exchange of ideas, break down prejudices and connect us on a most basic human level. When people are seated at the table, as they are passing the proverbial salt and breaking bread, they are forced to look at each other and converse.
This week we are featuring a simple menu, showcasing some of Biden’s long-time favorite dishes, Italian, of course. These are dishes well known and loved by most Americans. How appropriate to serve these crowd-pleasers to entice people to the table. That, after all, is what we have attempted to do with our Food Club during the COVID shutdown – to recreate the experience of eating together. Restaurants are more than just places to fill our stomachs. They are havens to remind us that we are part of a larger global family – a hospitable place where all are welcomed and nurtured.
Menu
Chef's Travel Notes
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
Ronald Reagan
In his Farewell Address to the Nation in 1989, President Ronald Reagan stressed the importance of parents teaching their children about America around the dinner table. But, my initial interpretation of his statement was much broader, that is, nothing brings us together like eating together. Eating together helps build understanding and strengthens the bonds between people. Afterall, eating at a table means both eating and talking. It can foster an exchange of ideas, break down prejudices and connect us on a most basic human level. When people are seated at the table, as they are passing the proverbial salt and breaking bread, they are forced to look at each other and converse.
Certainly, great things have been achieved around the dinner table in this country. Interestingly enough, in 1790, it was the “dinner table bargain" that brought Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe together to discuss establishing the new capital that was to become Washington, DC. And it was George and Martha Washington who would host Thursday dinners to bring a variety of people together, a precursor to the well-known Georgetown dinner parties.
Eating together can help build and reinforce bonds between family members as well. Though the family meal is changing as families change, it symbolizes stability in time of uncertainty. This is something Italians have recognized for centuries. At the table sharing, reaching, pouring wine and eating food thoughtfully prepared, links us to who we are and develops empathy for others. First Lady, Jill Biden recounts that “Dinner became a tradition, a hub for our family... a constant you could depend on.” She made it a point, as do I, to bring her family together for Sunday dinners, believing that there is more to a meal than just food. When the cook makes the call that dinner is ready, everything stops and gives way to community.
It is well known that President Biden is a man of simple tastes, not unlike many of his predecessors. Franklin Roosevelt favored grilled cheese sandwiches, Richard Nixon ate cottage cheese with ketchup (!), Lincoln loved bacon, John Kennedy clam chowder and William Harrison’s favorite dish was squirrel stew! Thomas Jefferson was responsible for serving macaroni & cheese at his White House after he brought a pasta machine from Italy.
This week we are featuring a simple menu, showcasing some of Biden’s long-time favorite dishes, Italian, of course. These are dishes well known and loved by most Americans. How appropriate to serve these crowd-pleasers to entice people to the table. That, after all, is what we have attempted to do with our Food Club during the COVID shutdown – to recreate the experience of eating together. Restaurants are more than just places to fill our stomachs. They are havens to remind us that we are part of a larger global family – a hospitable place where all are welcomed and nurtured.
Benvenuti a tavola,
Christianne