We saw how Pizzas could be declined around the world and take on a local color…
Eveline: this is the case with all the typical dishes of each region. Each family has its own exclusive way of doing it, adding a few ingredients and putting a special touch on it.
Ségolène: cooking in France in particular is a cultural affair!
Eveline: it’s true and what interests me today in this observation is its universality and its beneficial side.
Ségolène: that is to say?
Eveline: Well in everyone’s story there is one or more culinary memories… but rather one in particular… which moves the taste buds just to think about it.
It is the syndrome of the madeleine of Proust or ratatouille in the cartoon of the same name. To taste a certain dish, a certain cake, a sweetness is to plunge back into childhood with delight.
Do you have a particular dish or taste that you have memorized and that brings back to your memory a happy period of your life?
This is called an anchor in Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Ségolène: but what is the point of remembering this kind of dish? Especially if you don’t want to get fat!
Eveline: I call that nuggets. In your life if you remember things through the good times, you cultivate in you a certain benevolence towards others and yourself. You look at your past with optimism, and you make it lighter, happier and soothing.
Ségolène: and can it go through taste memories?
Eveline: our sensory memories are the most buried but also the most powerful to immerse us in our history. This is part of the kinesthetic perception of what surrounds us. By developing it, you learn to master your emotions, ie to cultivate the good ones and overcome the bad ones.
Ségolène: so we can calm anger by thinking of a cake?
Eveline: yes, for example. It takes a little practice, but you can become an expert in your emotions by growing the good ones and finding ways to reduce the bad ones. It’s called emotional intelligence and it’s largely through practice that you get there.