This passage reminded me of Sam:
People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? Why don’t you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do?
They ask it accusingly, as if I were somehow gross, unfaithful to the honor of my craft.
The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.
But there is more than that. It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it … and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied … and it is all one.
From The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher
There are some amazing stories about power and security and love, told via eating and drinking. Chocolat, Garden Spells, and Like Water for Chocolate come immediately to mind.
That reminds me of a Chinese movie I saw years ago at somebody’s house. Everything centered around food, but the food itself wasn’t the message. But now I can’t remember the name of it!
I adore Chocolat, and only found out fairly recently that it was based on a novel. The author has written at least one sequel, too!
I haven’t actually see the movie Chocolat yet, just read the book – it’s an outstanding read, and I do want to see the movie at some point. The sequel sounds compelling, too.