Marilyn Straczuk with Nancy Boardman, worship associate
July 10, 2005
Call to Worship
The basic necessities of life are air, water, food and shelter. Of those food is unique, first in that the amount, type and variety consumed effect the overall health of the individual, and because many species, our own included, attach a significance to food that goes beyond mere survival.
Historically food has played a large part in human spirituality or religions of all types as they developed over time. Rituals such as offerings to the gods including sacrifices, burials which provide food for the afterlife of the deceased, fasting, feasting, religious observances which require certain foods or forbid others, as well as numerous pleas to deity in the form of prayers, dances, chants, etc. requesting either food or the conditions required for producing or procuring it.
What about Unitarian Universalists? We hold food in high esteem – no doubt about that; and when we have Pagan services observing each new season, there is frequently a connection to food, as is common to earth-centered religions. But is there anything more that we are consciously aware of?
Most of you know of Paint Branch’s Ethnic Dinners, my involvement in them and that they are considered to be our second largest fund raiser. I once attended a workshop here, the advertised purpose of which was to help the leaders of groups & committees recruit volunteers. Seeking what I anticipated to be practical advice, I was thrown by the facilitator’s opening remarks – “First determine how your group supports the UU principles.” We make food and raise money.
I saw nothing in the seven principles which even come close to justifying Ethnic Dinner’s existence with groups like Social Action, We Care, the RE Committee, Interweave or even more business oriented groups like the board or personnel committee. Regardless of the social and financial functions it fulfilled, could it be considered a legitimate part of this community if it served in no spiritual capacity? While this remained my perception, something very subtle began to happen, which, once I became aware of it, provided the impetus for this service.
This is not intended to be a commercial for Paint Branch’s Ethnic Dinners. They do of course comprise the bulk of my experience with ethnic and regional foods and if as a result of this service, you decide to attend the dinners more often, no harm done. But what I’ll be talking about today is applicable to any ethnic dining experience be it in restaurants here or other countries, at an Ethnic Dinner or in your own homes. In the process, I’ll relate some history. Some is Paint Branch History drawn from my own memories, and some is human history based on anthropological studies I did in college while pursuing a degree in Population Ecology. I hope you’ll find it interesting, thought provoking and even spiritually enriching. If it also whets your appetites on occasion, that will be incidental; not intentional.
Sermon
Ethnic food has always been a part of Paint Branch. I’m told that long before I started coming here, there had been a series of dinners with ethnic themes, and I know Ben Peery once coordinated some group visits to selected ethnic restaurants. But of course, what I know best are the Ethnic and Regional American Dinners, usually called simply Ethnic Dinners. In the early ‘80s, several of us here at PB formed a singles group called Interactions. We put together the first Oktoberfest and to our surprise, what was intended as a one time effort turned into an annual event. Except for me, it was different people working on them every year. But for me they were something I could do for Paint Branch that I enjoyed, and, what I didn’t mention to too many people, was doing the same thing year after year meant it got easier every year.
Then Paint Branch got this outrageous idea to build a new meeting house. Among other attributes, it was to include a big, beautiful kitchen, a vast improvement over the little nook in the Hospitality Room. People pledged what they could contribute to the building fund, but the plans continued to encounter snags, each of which required more money to resolve. By early 1988, before we had yet broken ground, the costs had soared, but pledging had plateaued. The new building committee worked diligently looking for ways to reduce expenses, so when someone approached me at the church retreat in May of ’88 and said “Marilyn, have you heard the latest about the kitchen in the new building?”, I instinctively replied “No, but it can’t be good.” It wasn’t.
To cut costs, the building would be constructed with the sanctuary, the lobby and the restrooms completed, but not the kitchen. It would be there, like the basement, waiting to be finished at some later date – no cabinets, no sinks, no stoves, refrigerator or dishwasher, all waiting for the day “we can afford them”. Since that meant for everything we’d do that involved preparing food, we’d have to rent space elsewhere, and no one would consider renting our building for a wedding or similar function if they wanted to serve food, we would be spending money for one and losing money on the other.
“At that rate,” I asked “when will we be able to afford to complete our kitchen?” The response was, “That’s true, but people have pledged as much as they can afford.” I agreed, but added that I thought they might still go out to eat occasionally. Thinking of the popularity of the Oktoberfests, I suggested “Let’s see if we can get them to come to Paint Branch.” Right then about seven of us sat down at a table there at the retreat and brainstormed the idea. Bored with doing the same country over and over, I suggested a different country as the theme for each dinner. Someone very enthusiastically said, “Yes, let’s. I love Cajun food.” “OK,“ I said “Different countries and different regions of the US.”
Over that summer a small group of us developed plans and polled the congregation as to which themes they might like best. Following their choices we started with Greek in Nov. 88, French a month later, followed closely by Italy and so on. By the time the building was completed 3 years later, so was our kitchen. It not only had all the cabinets and appliances it needed, we had also raised enough money for the warming oven, dishes and a new coffee urn. Hearing that our goal was accomplished, people asked “You aren’t going to stop the dinners are you?” So here we are 17 years later, still doing Ethnic Dinners, but is it still just a fund raiser with some social and culinary appeal, or could it be fulfilling something more than that?
Earlier I alluded to something subtle going on as we continued to produce the dinners. It may have begun as early as the second dinner. The theme was France; the month was December. The French have a traditional Christmas cake called Bouche de Noel. It’s an almond sponge cake with a rum-laced butter cream filling rolled into the shape of log, a yule log to be precise, slathered with chocolate ganache and decorated with meringue mushrooms and sprigs of holly, all dusted with confectioners’ sugar snow. It is beautiful and delicious, and was the star dessert at the French dinner. A woman came up to me with her plate of Bouche de Noel in hand and tears in her eyes, and said “I have often heard of this cake but thought I’d never get to try it. Thank you so much.”
I was stunned at her reaction, but it made me realize that for people who might never have the opportunity to travel and experience some of these foods in their countries of origin, we might be the closest they’d ever come. Authenticity became an obligation, something we owed those who would patronize the dinners. From then on, I stressed that, even over fund-raising. Do research on the country, find the best recipes, shop in the ethnic markets and spend the money for the imported ingredients.
As it turned out, doing the research became a real adventure. Suddenly, all those things I’d learned in school, and forgotten, about these places, came back and now not only mattered, but were intriguing in how they explained what foods are available in a particular area and why people prepare them as they do. To understand why certain dishes are favorites, you also need to know the occasions for which they are served, be they religious or political holidays or milestones like weddings, birthdays, christenings or funerals.
I learned the role played by geography, climate, religion, ritual and the influence of other cultures. We’d assumed the various countries would all have food unique only to their country, their people. What we discovered was the enormous role cross-culturization has played throughout the world throughout history. For example, much of the world was at one time or another occupied for some length of time by Spain.
Whatever other influence Spain had on those areas, one that remains constant is Flan. No matter how well or poorly another people fared under Spanish occupation, they all love this sweet, caramel coated custard. It has become almost routine for Cathy Helmold and I to begin each menu planning meeting by asking, “Will it include flan?” We have served it at 3 or 4 dinners and deliberately not included it in several others where it would have, nonetheless been entirely authentic. It is that common throughout the world.
Eventually it became impossible to learn this fascinating information about all of these places and their food without realizing that communicating that information to the people who attend the dinners might enhance their ethnic dining experience. So the little talk before each dinner has become traditional, and besides, it gives the cooks time to get the food out to the buffet table. There have been times when I have told myself “These people are hungry; they don’t want to sit here and listen to you. Shut up and sit down.” But someone, or two or three always come to me afterwards and thank me for doing it.
Once, as I was researching one of these talks, (and here’s where the anthropology kicks in) I was struck by how clearly I could visualize the people in this far off land in a time long ago, learning how to find and prepare the food nature provided in that area, learning they should leave some to reproduce for the following year, how to preserve food to get them through a season which was too cold or too dry to find fresh food. How they kept food edible without refrigeration; or set aside seeds to plant the next spring.
I marvel at how not just one perceptive person, but many, long ago, isolated from each other, came to understand how to make bread or cheese or wine from a chance exposure to bacteria or mold, which at first glance would have seemed to have spoiled the food or drink. I admire what our primitive ancestors had to do to find, procure, preserve, and prepare enough food for them and their children to survive on, day after day, an effort which surely took a great deal of their time and burned most of the calories they managed to ingest in the same day.
Anthropological research indicates that, while living in groups enabled them to accomplish things that one or a few people alone could not do, if these groups became too large, they would outstrip the carrying capacity of the area in which they lived. So, by necessity they had to remain small and scattered. They didn’t always have excess food and frequently didn’t know where they’d find food for the next day. Now, envision a group living under these conditions and becoming aware that a stranger had entered their territory. How natural it would be to view this person as a threat. He might have come to steal or kill or abduct, but even if he had no such intention, just by being there and requiring food, water, shelter and fuel, he was competing with them for essential resources.
There is a concept known as In Group-Out Group Identification leading to Inter and Intra-specific Competition in the Presence of Valued Resources. That’s a scientific mouthful which describes the tendency of many social animals who recognize members of their own group, to exhibit certain types of behavior ranging from submission to flight to aggression when they encounter strangers, whether of the same species or another, who they perceive to be competing for the resources they deem necessary for their own survival. In humans this could explain everything from team sports and street gangs to racism, discrimination and international hostilities, but that’s a whole other service.
You can imagine the fears, apprehensions and adrenaline responses that stranger would evoke in our primitive ancestors. It seems logical that the knee-jerk reaction would be to attack and either kill or drive off the intruder. We can be certain that this happened frequently, but human history shows us that some people learned there was another view of the situation, another possible response.
There may have been some compassion, some realization that any traveler in a strange territory might simply need some sustenance and shelter for a brief period and then would move on. But then, there proved to be some definite benefits to providing hospitality to a stranger. In that time of little or no transportation beyond walking, the rare person who traveled a far distance from his homeland, had something special to offer. He had stories – of the place he had come from, the places he had traveled through, the things he had done and seen.
Stories were a favorite form of entertainment, and any story teller had a rapt audience. In the case of strangers, the stories had benefits beyond entertainment. They could convey ideas, philosophies, new or better tools, implements, weapons, more effective ways of hunting or foraging, discoveries of new medicinal plants or potions. The arts of weaving, pottery, wood carving, stone implements, leather tanning, metallurgy and many other useful skills including agriculture and domestication of animals were all transmitted from one culture to another by those who dared to travel. In the process, they also exchanged information on food and its preparation, frequently trading plants, seeds and animals to be raised in another part of the world.
Establishing friendly relationships with travelers, increased the likelihood that there could be more such visits back and forth, that the two groups could trade, and that they would not attack each other. Gradually, people became more inclined to overcome their natural fear and suspicion of a stranger, welcoming them instead and sharing food in exchange for what that person could offer.
Eventually it became a tradition, a matter of honor to show hospitality to a stranger. It was accepted that to dine with another was to mutually confirm trust and amicability; to share your food with another was to honor that person, symbolically if not actually, with a gift as precious as life itself. Sharing food with people of a different culture established peaceful coexistence between the two groups, and promoted a greater understanding and respect of each others’ cultures despite sometimes significant differences.
Over time, the urgent need of the stranger, the on-going survival of the host and. the continued progress of civilization were no longer significant issues, but “breaking bread” together had become symbolic of many of the more positive human interactions. The serving and sharing of food and drink had so merged with tradition, rituals, and celebrations that it became a permanent fixture in human social behavior. Think of times in our own society where we instinctively offer or expect food under particular circumstances because that’s the way it’s always done, and failure to do so could be a serious social faux pas.
When I research the foods for an Ethnic Dinner, I focus on the people of that country – not the government; the cuisine, not the politics. It doesn’t matter if we were ever at war with that country or if we differ ideologically with them. I learned that to experience the best dishes from any culture, seek out those prepared by the poor.
It is those who must eat the common, the inexpensive, the food rejected by the well-to- do, it is they who invent the ways to prepare it that lift it from mundane to magnificent, by long, slow cooking, by just the right herbs or spices, by fermentation or marination, or by doing the labor-intensive work to transform dried grains into flour or tough meat or fibrous plants into a digestable food. These are the dishes that become the comfort foods, the celebration favorites, even national signature dishes.
When we know why a group eats certain foods under certain conditions, it can further enhance the experience. Do you like cheese fondue? Do you think of it as a rather elegant party dish? Would it surprise you then, to know that it evolved among snowbound Swiss, running out of fresh food while waiting for spring to come to their alpine homes? When all you have to eat is hard, dried out cheese, some wine and stale bread, you think of fondue, not as an elegant party dish, but as survival.
Some Ethnic Dinners have been attended by people who were from or had lived for a while in the country which was the theme for that evening. It’s always a bit intimidating for those of us doing the cooking and planning to know that if we made a mistake, there is someone there who will know it, but so far all of them have been very complimentary, and the experience has shown us what this culinary cultural exchange can accomplish.
At the Chinese dinner a young Asian woman who had brought her 2 young sons said to me “This food is just like my grandmother made”. At the dinner on Peru a Peruvian gentleman said “You have told me things I did not know about my own country”, Lebanon at which guests presented us with this gift, Ethiopia where a couple from their embassy expressed amazement over our authentic menu and contributed some dishes of their own, France where Marguerite Gerun, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, could not be restrained from making half the dishes herself to ensure they were done a la France, the Philippines for which an American couple who had spent years there with the International Rice Institute gave us pointers beforehand and then said the dinner made them homesick, Thailand where Dewi Fallon’s homemade spring rolls and dipping sauce were the hit of the evening, New York City (that’s sort of a country) where the Black and White cookies and Steve Shedlin’s egg creams were especially poignant for several Paint Branchers, Mexico where Eli Miramontes made salsa and guacamole for us, and finally Portugal at which there were around 50 native or second generation Portuguese who helped us plan and cook the dinner, bought tickets, danced for us, displayed their crafts, told us about their country, contributed over $130 to our fire fund and then they thanked us for honoring them by having a Portuguese dinner. There is a saying “Do not judge another until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” Perhaps we can put a more positive spin on it and say, “Come to know others by sitting at their table and sharing their food.”
It is obvious that human relationships can advance to another level when a drink, a snack or a meal are shared. A baby’s first bond with parents occurs during feeding, friendships form and are cemented with invitations to dinner or by “doing lunch”, first dates usually include sharing a meal and romance blossoms over candlelight dinners, business deals which founder in the board room can be resolved in the dining room, political agreements are reached at power lunches.
When David played it, did you recall the words to the commercial jingle, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company. I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.”? What a vision this evokes! I sometimes wonder if the Middle East problems could be resolved if Israel and Palestine forgot Peace Talks and instead had a pot-luck dinner. Would the realization that they both eat the same foods fixed in similar ways and both their religions share many of the same dietary laws, perhaps help them to see they have more in common than they think?
Let’s be honest. Sharing our food with others is not always altruistic; sometimes it is simply a good way to show off – cooking skills or personal wealth, or to attain social status. Likewise, we often have self-centered motives for trying foreign foods. People in different parts of the world have discovered different ways of preparing and seasoning foods familiar to us, so sampling their dishes expands our enjoyment of that food, or sometimes introduces us to a new food, adding to our culinary choices. But we can take our experience of that food beyond the immediate pleasure we enjoy while eating it, and gain even more.
When a person first samples a dish of another culture and finds it enjoyable, the expression on their face needs no translation. It’s a sincere compliment to the cook and the culture that created it. With the simple act of food being offered, accepted and appreciated, a new and positive relationship is forged between strangers, between cultures, a definite win, win outcome.
We go even further when we not only share food with a person of another culture but in doing so, respect traditions of theirs which are not customs of ours. When we omit or forego ingredients that are favorites of ours, but taboo for our host or guests such as pork for Jews or Muslims, or beef for Hindus; when we go to the trouble to learn their customs and observe them, we demonstrate a level of respect that transcends politeness. It says “What you believe is valid and matters to me.”
Ten years ago on a cruise I met Benedicte Valentina who was at that time the manager of Blair House, the United States’ guest house for visiting foreign dignitaries. Benedicte invited several of us to come for a personal tour, one of the most fascinating I’ve ever been on. It included a visit to the kitchens and of course, a discussion of what they serve to visiting foreign VIPs. She revealed to us that while knowing what to serve, or not serve, is of course vitally important, one of the greater diplomatic challenges has to do with food some of the visitors want to bring with them, knowing it may not be available here. When that food includes plants that may carry diseases or insects, or more perishable foods which some visitors tend to like in certain stages of ripeness, decay or fermentation, the State Department must employ the highest levels of both vigilance and tact to detect it in time and let the guests know they may not bring it into the US, but not insult or anger them.
Some of us here at Paint Branch travel frequently and can experience ethnic foods in their various countries. Some may never venture out of the US. The majority of us, I assume may manage a few trips abroad, but most of our ethnic dining experience will continue to be in selected restaurants or at Ethnic Dinners.
So, I hope today to have raised the consciousness of any person here fortunate enough to indulge in eating any authentically prepared ethnic meal. By all means enjoy the experience as you would have without hearing me today. Savor the new taste, enjoy the unique ingredients and perhaps explore a new way of eating with chopsticks, bread or fingers. But then also think about the people who created the dish and why. Get to know them through their food, and consider how fortunate we are, especially we Americans, to have the opportunity to sample so many other cuisines whether in their native lands or here where so many of these people have emigrated.
With all of this in mind, let’s look again at ethnic dining and the UU Principles. No one principle is explicitly about eating of course, and ethnic dining doesn’t fully cover all the elements of any certain principle. But certainly awareness and understanding of other cultures does advance the goal of world community, and foster justice, equity and compassion in human relations, while valuing the foods cultivated in different parts of the world promotes respect for the web of life which includes the plants and animals that are the source of that food. Gluttony may be a deadly sin and even gourmet dining is a bit arrogant, but perhaps respectful, thoughtful and appreciative ethnic dining could actually be the ultimate haute cuisine.
Closing words
Before reading our closing words, I would like to give you all a chance to practice what I just preached. Cathy Helmold and I have prepared a small sampling of 5 different ethnic dips and bread or chips appropriate for each which Cathy is now putting out in the lobby. So, in the words of the French, Lebanese, Germans, Italians and Mexicans, “Bon appetite, Sabtayan, Esse gute, Buon Appetito, and Buen Provencho”, enjoy. And now our closing words.
With 39 Ethnic Dinners behind us, it seems ironic that the most appropriate closing words for this service come from a menu Jeri Holloway loaned me from the Old Lặhaina Luau for research on our 40th dinner, the upcoming Hawaiian Luau, and includes the quote you’ll find at the top of the order of service. It says “In the tradition of old Hawaii where every passerby was greeted and offered food, we say “O ke aloha ke kuleana o Kahi malihini’– “Love is the host in strange lands” – confident you will leave this place not as a visitor to a strange land, but as a member of our ohana” which means family.