Food for thought
I have just restarted a weekly Italian class which I love not least for the fact that we often meet at the Wallace Collection cafe. If I was a lady who lunched, that would most certainly be where I would carry out my lunching. Last week the topic was the attitude the Italians have towards food compared to us Brits. It was a great lesson for food vocab but it was an Italian newspaper article really struck a chord; how many times a week English children eat with their parents compared with the regular family mealtimes Italians share. I thought we managed 3 or 4 times a week which isn’t bad considering one or other of us is normally rehearsing somewhere at least 3 nights a week. I did feel defensive though and sited how impractical it was a lot of the time with many parents not getting home till bath time etc. All the usual excuses less than eloquently put in my faltering Italian. Apparently in Italy the kids are simply given a snack to keep them going and if necessary, get ready for bed but still sit up to the table when their parents eat. The Italians don’t understand why so many English kids are faddy or obese and are shocked that some kids are allowed to read or play computer games in restaurants to keep them quiet. At least we aren’t that bad with Anna but it certainly gave me food for thought (no pun intended).
So last night, although James has a rehearsal and won’t be home till gone midnight, instead of getting the twins and Anna off to bed before crashing on the sofa with beans on toast and a glass of much needed wine, Anna and I ate together. Okay it felt really early for me and Anna complained she was starving every 5 minutes until we sat down at 6:30pm but it didn’t kill me to eat at that time and she coped without fainting (with the help of some biscuits). We had a lovely chat about school, she helped me cook and the boys begged for mouthfuls at our feet, although they had already had tea much earlier. Might as well sit them up for a 2nd tea next time. I suppose if it was just about feeding them, we could invent a way of getting our kids to inhale it through a straw in under a minute whilst watching the telly, certainly much quicker and less mess, but this way they learn how to be a member of their family.
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david
8:22 pm, October 1, 2010
we always tried to eat together and still do when everyone is home. A nice way to keep up to date with all the family gossip
Perhaps you should patent a straw baby feeding device Juliette…if Nigella Lawson can brand products , why can’t “The domestic Diva”!
David
Lee
8:39 pm, October 1, 2010
Eeerrm, well we don’t have kids or even children for that matter but we do have a cat and we do have a dog. They eat breakfast when we do and also eat supper when we do, (though not the same menu obviously, or off the same table) though having said that, our dog (who has allergies)does have to eat only certain foods. (Mainly raw foods but sometimes it does see the bottom of a searing pan). The cat obviously is the dog’s “official taster” which saves us a fortune in propriety animal feeds.
They are only allowed to watch TV when their platters are clean….
david
8:46 pm, October 3, 2010
I love the rather swish Cafe in The Wallace Collection (well worth a visit for those who have not been ..and it is free)….but am not keen on the price of a small slice of cake!….we country bumpkins expect the local WI to provide a huge wedge of lemon drizzle for sixpence:)
Freya
7:58 pm, October 4, 2010
My family have always ate all together around the table for lunch and dinner and often breakfast. Whoever is at home eats together and then we save food for someone if they are coming in later. We take turns cooking or sometimes cook all together. I can’t imagine eating not being a family event – we always have interesting discussions at dinner and it’s a good time to have a chat and sometimes sing a song or two after dinner. We also often sit down together for afternoon tea as this is our favourite meal of the day
i usually make the biscuits!
I can’t imagine meal time not being a family event because it always has been but it’s easy for us as both my parents work from home (well my dad works in a workshop up the track but it’s still only 10 minutes away!)
david
7:45 am, October 5, 2010
Well done Freya….sounds lovely. I bet you make a fine biscuit
Freya
9:40 pm, October 7, 2010
David – i’m baking choc chic cookies at the moment, i’m going to write ‘Hamlet’ on them in icing as they’re for mt english literature class!