Conversations under the Tree

Far from being limited to recipes and repetitive gestures, gastronomy is a cultural expression in its own right, reflecting the universal need to feed oneself and the desire to belong to a group, and reflecting too countless traditions, innovations, techniques and trends. All of it diversified by each geography, era, social class or community. Since Antiquity, texts have sought to pass on to us the way in which we and others treat, consume and fantasise about food. While the gods of Olympus feast on ambrosia and nectar, Ulysses and his companions taste bread, meat, fish, birds, milk, cheese, honey… Feeding ourselves therefore means drawing on the bowels of the earth, the clear waters of rivers and generous forests. What gastronomies close to nature can the 21^st century develop?