I'm a foodie. I love cooking, baking, exploring new foods, new cooking methods, new tastes, exotic foods, herbs, spices, restaurants. You name it, I love it! And, of course, I love to eat. And, when I travel, I always look forward to trying new food.
We were in Mauritius recently and I relished the fish and seafood dishes. My husband, on the other hand, does not eat seafood and isn't a big fish eater. Being South African, we come from a nation of meat eaters – and we love nothing more than a good barbeque. Here, in South Africa, we don't call it a barbeque though, we called it a "braai" (it sounds like the word "bright" without the "t").
On our second to last evening, we were at a local barbeque shack where a few young men grilled prawns the size of crayfish (delicious!) for their guests. While I was tucking into the amazing seafood, my husband looked on with a slight expression of disgust, declaring that he didn't eat stuff with claws and antlers and beady bug eyes. He was craving a thick juicy "braai" steak.
Food brings people together
As I mopped up the last of the delicious buttery sauce from the prawns with a chunk of French bread, he stood up and walked over to the guys at the grill. It wasn't long before they beckoned me to join them. My husband had negotiated a deal with them: if I shared my homemade barbeque sauce recipe with them, we could use their barbeque the next evening to grill our own meat.
To say that the next evening turned out to be the highlight of our trip would be an understatement. We laughed until our cheeks hurt, we talked, shared our grill secrets, and all made a "braai" together – prawns on the left of the grill, beef steak on the right. We were having a lovely time – a middle-aged white South African couple and four young black Mauritians sharing stories about our cultures, language, jokes, struggles, history and our day-to-day lives.
And all because of food.
Please join us!
What: #MTtalk
Where: Twitter
When: March 31 @ 1 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT / 10:30 p.m. IST)
Topic: Food and Work
Host: @Mind_Tools
Food bonding
I've often experienced the same type of "food bonding" at places where I've worked. When someone celebrates their birthday, for example, and brings in cake to work, people look forward to teatime. They usually sit around a table, sing "Happy Birthday" together and enjoy the treats.
Or there are those times when everybody works late, chasing a project deadline, and someone arrives with a box full of cupcakes or doughnuts. That person was often the office hero – at least for a few minutes! Or, to celebrate the successful completion of a project, we'd have a rooftop barbeque or everybody went out for pizza on a Friday.
The flipside to food
I can't say that I always enjoyed the gatherings around food because I had an eating disorder when I was younger and I got severely anxious around food. I did everything possible to protect my secret – even something as drastic as literally running from the office when a colleague served birthday cake.
Where there's food there's often talk about calories and diets, weight and appearance. Those conversations sent my anxiety skyrocketing and all I felt was guilt and shame. I was unable to enjoy the food. Or experience the loving intent with which it was offered.
Wake up and smell the fish
Then, of course, there's also the contentious issue of smelly food. There's always that one person in the office heating up their broccoli or fish in the kitchen, or – worst – eating an egg sandwich.
Odors are not the only offensive thing about food. There's also the little matter of table manners and how to eat in a way that's not offensive to others – and I know I've just poked a massive hornet's nest!
What's perfectly acceptable to one person, based on their culture, upbringing and tradition, might be extremely offensive to another. In some countries, people burp after a meal or slurp while they eat to demonstrate they think it's a good meal. In other countries, burping and slupring are considered rude.
What's good food etiquette in the workplace?
So, what do we need to consider when combining food and work?
- We need to be tolerant of cultural differences in food etiquette.
- Accept that some people might prefer not to eat with others because they suffer from social anxiety or an eating disorder... or it's just not something they enjoy doing.
- At office functions, make provision for people with different eating preferences without making a fuss about it.
- Be sure to mention allergens in the food, especially if it's an exotic dish and people might not know what the ingredients are.
- Be considerate regarding the choice of food you take to the office, and how it smells.
- If you have to travel for work, make sure that you read up about the cultural expectations and food etiquette of your destination.
Food is much more than the nourishment it provides. Food represents our likes and dislikes, habits, tradition, culture, and history. It tells us something about who we are and where we come from. Sharing food is an opportunity to sit together and do something that all people need to do: eat. It's a way to show our humanity and our generosity, and it's a wonderful way to build a community and all just be human together.
Join us for our Twitter chat on "Food and Work"
In our upcoming #MTtalk Twitter chat we will be discussing the role of food at work. What we love about it and what we need to consider when we combine the two.
In our Twitter poll this week, we asked how people feel about food at work. Almost 50 percent of participants said they're happy to eat with others, while 18 percent feel anxious and obligated to eat. See the full poll results here.
We'd love you to participate in the chat, and the following questions may spark some thoughts in preparation for it:
- What role can food play in the workplace?
- What role, if any, can food play in a virtual workplace?
- How can food encourage greater collaboration and inclusion at work?
- What's your favorite way to share food at work?
- How has food helped a colleague or coworker in crisis?
- How have you used food to build community at work?
Resources
To help you prepare for the chat, we've compiled a list of resources for you to browse. (Note that you will need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.)
The Seven Dimensions of Culture
Religious Observance in the Workplace
How to join the chat
Follow us on Twitter to make sure you don't miss out on any of the action this Friday!
We'll be tweeting out 10 questions during our hour-long chat. To participate in the chat, type #MTtalk in the Twitter search function. Then, click on "Latest" and you'll be able to follow the live chat feed. You can join the chat by using the hashtag #MTtalk in your responses.
The post Food and Work – Join Our #MTtalk Twitter Chat appeared first on Mind Tools.
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