Unexpected inspiration

Despite having a typical bedtime of around 10 o'clock, I was kept awake several nights ago when the movie Babette's Feast began. This 1987 Danish film was captivating, although for the first 60 minutes, there is very little food or feasting to be seen. Instead, the majority of the film centres around two sisters, Martine and Phillipa, who are part of a strict Protestant village in remote Jutland. There is a great deal of praying and hymn singing. The focus on food and the sensuality of flavour brought by Babette, a French woman who seeks refuge in this rural community, serves as a stark contrast to this very austere setting. Without giving too much of the plot away, she is able to find solace and personal fulfillment in the preparation of a lavish dinner, celebrating her role as artist through the medium of food. Her culinary artistry, expressed so powerfully under such unfortunate personal circumstances, is even more inspiring and ignites long forgotten passions in Martine and Phillipa.

After watching Babette's Feast, it is difficult not to become empassioned about how food can be art. It is this creative drive that atrophied in me somewhere between high school and fellowship but hopefully, it has regenerated into something bigger and better.