Imagine walking into your house after a long day of school. Before you even relax, the smell of food immediately reaches you followed by the question “What’s for lunch.” Some people see food as something needed for survival which may be true to some extent, but for me it’s so much more than that. Food is present everywhere in our lives, in every celebration and tradition. It’s a form of expression, a love language.
The next time you go to an event look at people gravitating towards the food stalls and the tables being full of different dishes. The food at every event is the cherry on top with cakes at birthdays, turkey on thanksgiving, signature recipes and much more. Listen to people still discussing how amazing the food was at an event they went to.
Food appears in life’s ordinary moments. After an exam when you immediately want to have a comforting meal. Not purely because of hunger, but because food is a way to decompress and celebrate. When the small moments around food become increasingly heartwarming. When your friend buys you something from the snack bar just to cheer you up, when you take a bite from your friend’s food and they happily let you. When someone bakes something at home but brings it to school to share with everyone. When in a restaurant you share half your meals just so you can try both. When someone lets you take the last piece. When someone eats the beetroot and you eat the avocados in a dish. When you halve a cookie and they let you take the bigger half. When you’re locked in during flex and your friends offer to bring you food. These moments may feel insignificant while they’re happening but they truly show how much people think about you and put effort in order to make your day even a little bit better.
In families the most meaningful expressions of care happen through food. When you have an important day tomorrow and your mom makes the perfect food to give you enough confidence and comfort at the same time. When your dad figures out you like this specific type of biscuits and the next week you see it in the grocery bags. When your grandparents insist you take another bite before you leave. When dishes are shared across a whole table and desserts are split. They show how food is deeply intertwined with love.
When you’re travelling or not in your home country, you search up a specific chain of restaurants that have your home meal. When you take a bite, it instantly reminds you of home. When you go back to your home country and make a list of all the different things you’re going to eat and end up with a stomachache.
This is why food to me feels like a love language. It is present in both the extraordinary and ordinary moments of life. It may be a party, a snack between friends, the familiar smell of dinner, food carries a message. It shows us how love is expressed through simple actions and it may also be served to us on a plate.
