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We have an
obsession over seeking home-cooked and home-made meals. What is it
about attaching the words “home-made” that gives that automatic
trusting and warm feeling inside? This sense of belonging and
inclusiveness brings a smile to my face undoubtedly. What exactly
does home-made mean? If I buy a cake mix, add all the ingredients and
bake it, is it still considered to be home-made? What if I make my
own frosting, then is it considered home-made? I feel like the term
home-made and home-cooked is incredibly subjective, so why the
obsession to call everything home-made?
Ideas of a home are stipulated by a dominating group, replicated and re-invented to fit the modern family. Stereotypically a home is comforting. It is somewhere you always come back to at the end of the day, because it is safe and filled with pleasant memories with your family. A home is not just a place you live, it is the place you belong. It is filled with family and invited friends. Sound familiar?
The Meaning of Home
Home is a place where I can rest my
head.
Home is a place where I can sleep,
smell, hear and play.
Home is a place where memories are
made.
At home I smell the salty smell of
chicken soup.
At home I feel the warm blankets.
At home I see my family.
At home I hear my mother, father,
friends and family.
Now I truly know the meaning of home.
By Grande Prairie
Interestingly Grande Prairie uses the
five senses to describe the atmospheric feel of what a home is.
Generally everyone that I have confronted claims that a home is a
place where they are happy, safe, and with family. Assuming that
everyone gets along with family that is. A picture of what a home
“should be” is painted in all of our minds, yet it remains
subjective. There is no right answer. People commonly say that their
moms take the responsibility of preparing meals yet ironically there
seem to be more male master chefs. Why? Focusing on this “home”
people have a loving feeling when they talk about what a home is, or
what they feel it should be. What better way to sell food than to
offer this same cultural sense of love and support? To put it
bluntly, restaurants are sending the following messages:
If you eat this, you
will also be loved and supported.
This food was made with
the love and support of family.
You too will be able to
enjoy the same feeling.
I will now paint a stereotypical
picture of a nuclear family where there are two heterosexual parents
and two kids. Imagine, it is fall, you live with your two parents,
and you have a sibling. As you walk home from school your mother is
preparing a “home-cooked” meal. As you walk into this home, you
notice a pot of soup on the stove-top simmering, your nose is filling
with the familiar scents of herbs and spices from your childhood, and
your mother is smiling in her apron and welcoming you into the house
with a warm hug. Then she kisses you on the forehead and asks how
school was. Your father just walks in the door, hangs up his coat,
greets your mother with slight affectionate kisses and smiles at you
as he goes to wash his hands before dinner. Your sibling arrives last
and everyone gathers around the table over a “home-cooked” meal.
During the fantastically flavorful and fresh meal everyone shares
their stories and daily experiences with laughing and smiles. Does
this sound like your home?
Saying that something is home-made adds
the idea of love, acceptance and support from your family into the
picture of food. As you pass around familiar hot dishes you attach
feelings to those dishes. They become symbols of hard work and love.
What unloving mother would cook a meal for her family? It all boils
down to selling this idea of a perfect family together, sharing, and
caring. Home-cooked also adds the idea of carefully planned love
being put into that meal, and because of this love it must be fresh
and healthy for your consumption.
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