Front Porch Conversations: When Did You Eat Food Outside your Geographical Comfort Zone?

Food fills our stomachs and our souls. It doesn’t have to be much but the connection that happens around a table is sacred. This is especially so when we step out of culinary comfort zones.

A few weeks ago, a friend invited me to her home for a graduation party. She happened to mention that they would also be having a crawfish boil. Having never even heard of such a thing until a few years ago, I was intrigued. This Great Lakes raised girl has a taste for seafood but crawfish have never touched my lips. In addition, I have never traveled to the southern states. Much of our culinary experiences are tied to the cultural narratives that are written as we gather around the table.

I have to confess that the idea of eating something that had been living only a half hour before was hard to digest. But, I do eat meat and I have strived to acknowledge what that means. How does my theology inform my diet? How do I live in the wrestling of caring for creation while also giving thanks for that which is provided locally for food? Having a daughter in culinary school and engaging in some of the conversations around her assignments has opened up paths for reflecting on cultural impact on diet. I’ve been challenged to pause, when tempted to say, “That’s disgusting!” Instead, I think about how my biases may be informing my views of stewardship.

Back to the party. I first heard about crawfish boils a few years ago. After a few references, I became curious but they are not a common event in Illinois. However, my friend’s husband’s roots in geography and culinary preferences originate in Louisiana. Sharing those literal life shaping experiences around the table with others is love. So I felt honored to be invited. The presentation amazed me. A beautiful, colorful bounty of corn, crawfish, mushrooms, and potatoes spread across a table. And everyone feasting from the same “plate.” After the gracious offer of having it peeled for me, I tasted the crawfish. A bit fishy tasting but that’s coming from someone whose tastes have not been raised on it. The mushrooms and potatoes though? I confess to eating more than my share.

What about you?