A Letter from the Publisher
I’ve been thinking about why eating together is so important. We know it’s fun to sit down with people we like and have a lively conversation over dinner. It brings us closer.
We also know it can remind us to eat better—at least for one meal— and give us the opportunity to prepare something delicious for people we love and care about.
But to me these seem like positive outcomes rather than a why, like how this tradition started. I thought of the first gatherers. What’d they do after coming across a particularly nice bush of berries? I know what I’d do. I’d think, “Wow! Look at all these berries! I can’t wait to show them to everyone in the cave!” Thankfully for the human race, a high percentage of people would do the same.
The gatherer didn’t just sit down next to the bush, eat their fill and leave. That wouldn’t be fun. Who would you talk to about how deli-cious they are? Who would tell you the berries would go particularly well with the bird they managed to trap the other day? And they’d help you remember the location of the bush, so you can hit it same time next year.
It would also be selfish not to share the news (and the berries), be-cause back around the fire were people who were too old, too young, or too sick or too busy taking care of others to search for food.
So we eat together because we are social animals and have a need ingrained across millennia to share to keep each other alive.
I was thinking about this as our Fall issue started to take shape. Jon Mitchell, the chef at Perla Raw Bar, emphasized over and over that he loves compliments that mention the whole experience, not just the food. He likes to hear people say they felt taken care of. Knife maker Nic Nichols loves making his tools, but when he can make one spe-cial—like by using wood from a family hutch destroyed by Hurricane Florence to make the handle—he really feels part of something.
We have three chances to share a meal with somebody every day. Three opportunities to remind you what you’re a part of.
The story was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue.
