Sharing the love
I RECENTLY had the opportunity to meet one of my food heroes. Antonio Carluccio, one of the godfathers of Italian cooking, was in Sydney for the Crave Sydney International Food Festival (a must-visit for keen foodies during October). Antonio has been awarded the Commendatore OMRI by the president of Italy for services to Italian gastronomy (the equivalent of a British knighthood) and an OBE in the UK. Kiwis will be familiar with him from his TV shows, including the delightful Two Greedy Italians.
Despite his stellar reputation, what I love about Signor Carluccio’s approach to cooking is that it is all about simplicity. He calls it ‘‘MOF MOF’’ which stands for ‘‘minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour’’ (you have to imagine that in an Italian accent). He is all
For Carluccio, cooking a meal is an act of love.
about down-to-earth food which celebrates fresh ingredients, with a strong focus on vegetables. In fact he was the only chef I saw over the weekend of the Chef Showcase in Sydney who presented vegetable-based dishes, and one of the few whose recipes could be readily reproduced by a home cook.
Antonio told me he lost 20kg over the course of the past two years, simply by halving the portion sizes of everything he ate. ‘‘The most important thing is to eat everything,’’ he says. ‘‘Don’t eliminate anything, or you eliminate the pleasure. You can eat something fatty – just don’t eat it every day’’. This sounds like a pretty healthy attitude to me.
Antonio also told me he is sad to see how life in Italy is changing, as people are becoming busier and working more, and the focus on families eating together is lessening. Just as in other parts of the world, Italian kids are spending more time in front of screens and eating junk food, and, he feels, they are losing touch with their food and the traditional Italian food culture.
For Antonio, as for most keen cooks, cooking a meal is an act of love. ‘‘Food keeps societies and families together’’, he says. The evidence is on his side; research has shown that children whose families regularly share meals together know more about their family history and tend to have higher self-esteem, interact better with their peers and show higher resilience in the face of adversity. Research has found that families who eat together are twice as likely to have five servings of vegetables and fruit a day as those who don’t, and children who regularly eat family dinners have a higher intake of a host of nutrients including calcium, iron, folate and other vitamins.
It’s easy in our fast-paced world full of activities and distractions to feel like we don’t have time to sit down and take the time to eat a meal with the family. But try it – even just once – this week, and I bet it will satisfy more than just your appetite.
Healthy Food Guide