Finger-Food: The New Gastronomic Revolution
Farewell the fork? After centuries of consumption with silverware in hand, fingers are now back in fashion as ambassadors between our plates and our mouths. No more guilty injunctions, “We don't eat with our hands”, Finger-Food has rehabilitated the down-and-dirty eating style, allowing for a more creative mix of different foods at each sitting. Here's how.
Bye-bye, Fork!
Perhaps it divides the world, but it's our usual way to eat food food. They eat with their hands in Mexico, India, Senegal and Burma, to name but a few places, however in the West, the hands were abandoned as eating instrument back in the 16th Century. After previous centuries of loyal service, fingers ceded their place to a strange, more “refined” instrument, the fork. Over time, the fork with four prongs became an essential for good manners, breaking the link with our Neanderthal forebears who picked up their food with their hands. We should say that this regressive element is helping to stoke the revolution. Putting traditional habits aside, Finger-Food is fast establishing itself with the gastronomic intelligentia. Whether it be at top French chef Alain Ducasse's professional culinary school or Joël Robuchon's Atelier, everybody is adopting the new way of eating.
Chic Snack
Snacking has long been frowned upon by those who teach us to eat well, but now snacking is making a comeback. Mostly thanks to our busy schedules, and to a lack of compromise in quality and esthetic, Finger-Food is appealing because of its range of choice and flavours. Particularly at lunchtime, it allows for a maximum of variety in a minimum of time. The only drawback - no forks allowed! The result - mini-brochettes with vegetable confit, foie-gras lollipops, madeleines with Roquefort, all the while avoiding the good old routine of starter-main course-dessert for a satisfying, well-balanced snack. No more the dictates of routine and tradition, and welcome, friendly lunchtimes with aperitif, lunch and friends! Finger-Food is an invitation to new epicurean delights with a dose of relaxed attitude thrown in.
E. Burget
Octobre 2007
