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Another Food Blog, Really?

I have long avoided doing a food blog for numerous reasons. Primarily, I assumed there were plenty of people doing it (which is entirely true and they're doing a pretty good job of it), so I wasn’t sure what my contribution could be. Secondly, the one aspect that most interested me about the food discussion (which is to say, topics beyond this tastes good, or this is too gamey) was the historical aspect – where did the food come from, why do we eat it the way we do, and how has it all changed.

In other words, as a friend once said, all of the boring parts. Though I disagreed with him, I have long stopped assuming that my tastes or predilections had any broad based appeal. But recently, I decided that the time was right (read: I got a sponsor) and that there were reasons to write about these subjects (read: I got a sponsor and they said there were reasons). I also decided along the way that my friend was full of it (what does a guy in Navy really know about food anyway?).

And the Time is Now, Because...

So why is the time right and what are the reasons? There are still numerous food blogs out there – that much hasn’t changed. They have more appeal and are likely more interesting to your normal foodie than anything you’ll see here (so much for the up sell…)

But this project isn’t about gaining a following on social media or showing people how smart I think I am. This project is an outgrowth of my consulting and educational work, which have shown me not only how fully appreciating and taking advantage of the here and now is dramatically enhanced by understanding how it came about in the first place, but that how even an innocuous and ubiquitous thing like food can have a drastic importance on politics, business, society, and even winning and losing on the grandest scale.

Drying peppercorn in Kampot, Cambodia.

On second thought, what does a guy in the army really know about food either?

Losing on a grand scale. Chili Mac - like taking your sister to the prom.

Winning.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR CORPORATE SPONSOR

Water Dragons Consulting LLC was founded to provide a solution to the challenges of understanding complex topics in an increasingly complex world. Rather than focusing on a purely technical solution or relying on simple binary answers, the company takes a deep dive approach into the human aspect of any given issue to provide solutions.

The preparation and consumption of food is an essential element human experience – ranking just barely below breathing and drinking water. It is one of the most important things we do yet we take it for granted on a daily basis. In light of that, what can food tell us about the world around us, why things are the way they are, why we do the things we do? It turns out, it’s a lot.

Now, Finally, To the Point

This blog will be an exploration of that question raised by Water Dragons Consulting - namely, how eating has been shaped and how it has shaped us. I have chosen my home state to be serve as the focus of these efforts. Not only is it easy and accessible for me, but its rich food tapestry has been largely ignored over the years. At one level, it’s easy to talk about crab cakes and pit beef (which I will visit), but on another, much more interesting level, is the cultural diversity of the state and the cuisine this mix has created.

For instance, the port town of Baltimore has various influences that aren’t known outside of the city such as Greek, Polish, Irish, and German, in addition to burgeoning South Asian, Korean, and Latin American communities. The Washington D.C. suburbs feature large El Salvadorian and Chinese communities – the latter of which was partially fed by migration of out Baltimore. The Eastern Shore and Western Maryland have their own food cultures, as does north Maryland with its Amish Dutch influences. In other words, a wealth of material sitting in my own backyard.