Dinner at Grandma's House

Ever since I can remember, my family went to my grandmother’s house at least every Sunday for dinner. Grandma was an incredible chef and baker. The one dish that stands out the most to me is her recipe for spaghetti. She, of course, used to make homemade pasta to go along with her delectable spaghetti sauce and pork chops, but now when anyone in my family recreates the dish, we just use boxed spaghetti. Her homemade spaghetti is definitely the meal with the most emotional significance for me.

Thinking back to Sunday dinners at Grandma’s with the whole family brings back warm memories. As is mentioned in Kniazeva and Venkatesh’s report of their study, there are three levels of symbolic framing of food. Those three levels are definitely present in the symbolism of my Grandma’s spaghetti. As a carb-rich food, on the surface it is a comfort food. On deeper levels though, it is a homemade food, made by someone I have always loved and admired, and it brings back wonderful memories of spending time with family members who I don’t get to see very often anymore. In my family, making Grandma’s spaghetti is not something we do on an average basis. It is a very special dish in all of our hearts, containing fond memories of her and my grandfather, so we only make it when we will be having a family gathering. It preserves the special meaning behind the celebration of this meal.

Out of the three themes for data analysis in Kniazeva and Venkatesh’s study, for this meal I am able to relate to their first theme: food as a social connector. In their report, it is said that the major elements of a good meal are tasty dishes, a social setting, and social interaction. All of these elements come to mind when I think of my grandmother’s spaghetti. In order to truly have a successful meal, the social setting is important. The best meals are remembered not only for the ingredients in the dishes, but for the conversations and the people they were enjoyed with. It is also mentioned in their study that the value of good conversation accompanying meals highlights the pleasures derived from food. I completely agree with this statement. It is always nice to have delicious food, but to me, a meal cannot truly be enjoyable unless I have someone to share it with.