Food is Love

Thematic for the arts and festivals alike, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fantastical comedy about marriage and lovers’ bliss, fairies, elves, and their magic juice to turn any subject into that of passion. And when one is doted upon, one is fed with love’s extravagances,
“with apricots and dewberries,
with purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries;
The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees,
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs
And light them at the fiery glow-worm’s eyes,
To have my love to bed and to arise;
And pluck the wings from painted butterflies
To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes:
Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.”

Food is longevity; it is magic; and it is aphrodisiac. After all, Aphrodite swept to shore in an oyster shell, and legend has it that Cleopatra bathed in saffron-infused mare’s milk before bedtime.

In films, food is a popular medium to convey desires – in Lady and the Tramp, when sharing a plate of spaghetti turned into a first kiss; in American Pie, when whipped cream dressed up as lingerie; and in Sex and the City, when a spread of sushi unfurled into a tease. When it comes to sexy food, imagination comes abound.

But it’s not just about desire, food also conveys kindness and gentleness. We’re nostalgic about grandma’s food because it speaks of love. It is the chicken soup for a cold. It is pie and mash, seemingly ordinary but speaks of familiarity and warmth. Though, I have learned early on that comfort food done right is no trivial task.

Oh, my love! I shall make you grape fizz and apricot pies; we’ll drink oysters and paint butterflies. In the end, it’s all about
“make me laugh over coffee,
make it a double, make it frothy
so it seethes in our delight.
Make my cup overflow
with your small happiness.”