How many times have you narrowed in on home-cooked food for the cause of falling sick? Look back and see.
It’s really the thought that counts. I’ve eaten in the best of restaurants, where attention to hygiene is paid to the minutest detail. And I have eaten in homes, where resources limit expenses on preparation of dishes, yet food is cooked with love and affection. With the latter, the objective is not to present hygiene in an attractive package to customers, but to provide nourishment and health to the consumers.
The love and affection, the thought in action, which by all means would seem super-natural in the study of general science, is what makes the difference. Arguably, the commercial interest behind preparation of gourmet dishes is a powerful motive, that offsets to a great extent the effect of external hygiene and care in procurement.
The ones who have travel across India, have noted, it is a safe bet to eat cooked food at local dhabas that serve only vegetarian food and where turnover is high during meal times. Such establishments, although aiming at profit, do not pitch luxury as a value proposition against the basic necessity of food. And hence, while hygiene may be less visible to the eye, statistics around health have weighed in favor of their kitchens.
It is here, where you’d have to complain less for cold rotis being delivered to your plate, and the chef would rarely be noticed at a dinner table, checking if the guests have savored the flavor in the broth from “Today’s Special”. Engrossed in ensuring, that his guests have their fill, there would be second vibration that empathizes with the feeling of completeness at the end of such a meal.
While we fill out feedback forms in fine dining restaurants, our responses are often biased by the part if we’ve got our money’s worth for the food consumed. For, if the child in the family, who slept away while the chef was busy tossing bread in the glass enclosed tandoor, it wouldn’t be justice to say the meal satisfied the hunger of all who ate. And for the ones, who shelled out more than what they desired, the energy in the thought goes a long way.
And thus, we come to think, and think again. What is it, in the meal that was cooked by a mother in the home kitchen, that makes it so pure, that its hard to believe someone can fall sick with home-cooked food. Not only did she ensure to use the freshest of vegetables, the best of oils, and the cleanest of utensils, she had an interest in the health and wellness of her family. And this thought itself, is what puts behind every other aspect of health and hygiene and ensures the taste of love and affection in every morsel one ingests.
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