We learn: “Food historians uncover, record, and reproduce food stories, recipes and dishes. They search literary texts and non-fiction works, including old cookbooks, for hints of daily diet and culinary customs to get a clearer picture of what the average person, not just the wealthy and privileged, ate at any given time and place.

They search for new sources studying kitchen inventories, trade and taxation records, and ancient cave carvings, drawings, menus and then look around for ways to use their knowledge. Their information may be combined with a job in travel, teaching, or writing.”

Culinary libraries need the help of historians, as do academic journals and publishers. So, too, do modern movie makers and producers of TV series. Directors must make sure Braveheart warriors, diners on The Titanic, Upstairs, Downstairs and Harry Potter characters eat the food of their period in history.

Trend predictors and futurists rely on historical patterns too because it is imperative to understand the past in order to grasp what is happening now and what is likely to occur in the future.

Writing the history of what we eat provides a geographic destiny, and social history of the nation. Food puts everything into a living, ever evolving reference derived from paintings, photographs as well as diaries and oral histories.

I CAN DO THAT! ICDT!

I’ve noticed that a bunch of people have been dying lately.  This presents a great opportunity for the rest of us.

We should remember that funerals are for the living.  The most honored survivors walk slowly and mourn from a lectern.  Grieving friends who are held in high esteem are invited to shoulder the casket from outdoors to indoors and back out again.

Others simply sob.

All this heavy-duty emotion is sure to build up a hearty appetite.

Brunch for the Bereaved is a niche market that is assured of growth as the population ages and the inevitable becomes, well, unavoidable.

Restaurants catering to mourners should specialize in tasteful advertising and appropriate interior design.

Writing in the Philadelphia Daily News, Christine Fisher describes the work of Jack Shoop one of only 61 chefs in the United States certified as a master chef by the American Culinary Federation. He notes that 40 percent of cancer-related deaths are due to malnutrition. Cancer and its treatments can affect a patient’s ability to taste and smell and lead to nausea, trouble absorbing nutrients, anorexia and fatigue.

Chef Shoop is part of a team of oncologists, naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, mind-body specialists and therapists that use a whole-person approach to ensure optimal nutrition for their patients. This approach is based on the fact that cancer does not affect one part of the body but rather the body as a whole — as well as all aspects of patients’ lives.  He says: “Our purpose is so wonderful and beautiful…really it’s about two Ls — loving and listening.”

Note: Personal and private chefs may specialize in a specific health area, for example preparing gluten free meals or tasty food for those living healthily with diabetes.  Even folk yearning to shed a couple of pounds can be helped to slimness with the aid of a personal chef.  Do you remember how much weight Oprah lost? And her cook’s cookbook sold literally millions of copies.n