Is it the food or the Italians?

In Harper and Faccioli’s book, The Italian way, it was obvious that most Italians keep their recipes simple. They count on the way they make the recipe more than the ingredients they add to it. To them, food is a means through which to express affection.

The way that Italian food brings people together made me think that if all it took was Italian food to get friends and families together, then why not cook Italian? But this wan’t the issue. Pasta is served in fast food restaurants too, but then, what makes the Italian recipes special?

One thing is the thought that Italian cuisine is mostly improvised. As mentioned in Harber and Facciolini’s book, the Italian’s private life is carefully structured while the public life is largely improvised. The ingredients which Italian’s use are mostly fresh and prepared according to an old family recipe. In most of the restaurants I've tried pastas in, the herbs and flavors added to the dish were easily detected. Garlic, butter, pepper and most importunely, cheese.

Moreover, the most important element in the food of Italian culture is that it brings families and friends together. The Italians use the food to connect networks and family relationships. The food they cook and the recipes they use refresh their memories of the old people who used it before them. 

In most countries today, people don’t follow the Italian way. Mostly, because of the existence of fast food chains which made families, relatives and friends no longer get together on one table. They simply got used to the McDonaldized way that they look for efficiency, predictability and control in what they want. So, they just drive through and don’t cook at home, unlike Italians, whose dinning experience is all about family discussion. 

However, here in Doha, people do follow the Italian way. The food here does gather people. Whenever there is something to be celebrated we think,“lets go eat.” People’s idea of going out here in Doha, revolves around eating. From my personal experience, when my friends and I want to enjoy the weekend we must include going to a restaurant and eating.

I’ve noticed that Italian, traditional or fast food, it doesn’t matter. When it comes to gathering people together food is the ultimate way.