This Week
We were to have our Short-term Exchange Student, Pierre Marais, talk to us about his experiences on the exchange but he will only be available next week, the 2nd April so we will postpone the Business Meeting to the 9th April. Instead there will be a discussion on Trends and other Aspects of the Food Industry with Graham Donet and myself on a mini panel. I think we'll ask our President to chair it.Come along with your questions and we will do our best to answer them. If you want to send them to me in advance to peter@pjsfood.co.za then I will forward the question to Graham as well.
Food photo-taking: Trend or just nuisance?
BY RUSSELL TING
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Whether you like it or not, foodies and food paparazzis are shooting away, causing changes in the whole food chain.
DOES anybody remember what it was like when you could have just one proper meal without someone whipping out their smartphone to take a picture of it?
Anybody? You don’t remember?
Neither do I. It has become the norm now to capture that piping hot plate of whatever it is you’re having and then up-load it onto social networking sites so your friends or friend’s friends or even complete strangers can give you, or rather, the photo of your meal, that all-important “Like”.
The act of doing so has become completely excusable, almost as if it was the natural thing to do.
Nobody remembers the age without a camera in your pocket or purse or when taking a photograph used to entail a tedious visit to a photo studio to get it developed and printed.
“Hey, don’t touch it yet! I haven’t taken a photo of it!”
This is a phrase that rings out at tables in restaurants, eateries and kopitiams all over Malaysia.
There’s more; now there are terms to describe these food photographing aficio-nados, like foodie or food paparazzi.
I nearly fell off my chair laughing when I stumbled upon articles the other day where chefs and diners described how the act of photographing food was affecting the industry, and changing the way people dine these days.
In an article by news agency AP, a foodie named Chuck Arendt said that he was “no fan of restaurants telling him whether he can or cannot take photographs”.
“It is my food and I should be able to do what I like with it” was his opinion on the matter. Fair enough.
He also stated that restaurants should be accommodating of foodies like himself, saying that they should have “better lighting, for example”.
Perhaps they could also offer tripods or light boxes for rent while they’re at it.
Now I know that pesky dim lighting that’s meant to set the mood for what should have been a memorable night out isn’t doing the photo of your steak any favours, but come on.
Let’s look at it from a local perspective. What does the average person think about shooting a photo of a meal?
“I do admit that sometimes it is a bit annoying but I myself do it occasionally, for example, so it really depends,” said Angel Song.
“A lot of people are starting to do so, especially now that the number of young smartphone users is on the rise.
“For me, it is acceptable if the dish is something really special, you know, not like your regular bowl of kolo mee.
“I used to get really annoyed whenever I went out with a group of friends who insisted on taking a million photos of one dish; I had to wait forever before I could enjoy my meal!
“It’s okay if it’s a snap or two per dish, but knowing when not to go overboard is key,” she said.
I turned to a friend of mine who was a chef, but now runs his own food catering business to get the opinion of those who labour to make a dish presentable and delectable, to both the eye and taste buds.
“It is quite a happy thing, you know, having people photograph food that you created. It gives you a sense of achievement,” said Alan Leong.
“The best part is, if it looks good and tastes good, they will give you a favourable comment to go along with the picture for their friends to see.
“That could mean good news for your business.”
A certain Facebook page sprang to my mind. With a little over 14,000 Kuching-nites signed onto it, the page holds great influence over eateries in the city; one good review can do wonders, but the opposite could spell disaster for a business, and food photography plays a big part. Anyway, I digress.
“However, I personally still find it annoying when my meal gets held up just because someone wants to take a photo for Instagram or Facebook, which happens more often than you think,” laughed Leong.
What really boggled my mind, though, was how camera manufacturing companies were jumping onto the bandwagon and offering a Food Mode setting on their cameras.
I am not kidding. It is an honest to goodness dial you can set on most modern digital point-and-shoot cameras so your food pictures will come out perfectly exposed and in focus.
Then again, that isn’t the weirdest thing on cameras these days, because Pet Portrait mode helps you capture that elusive shot of your cat that you’ve been struggling with.
I suppose that having a smartphone with all its conveniences and constant connectivity has contributed immensely to how we interact with one another, but having a meal, in my opinion, should be a very personal experience.
It’s great when we’re all sitting together and enjoying each other’s company while having some delicious food, but somehow that isn’t really the case any more.
Everybody is too anxious to get that shot of a meal when it arrives at the table out onto the Internet as fast as possible, with the angle that best portrays how good it will taste — when they get around to eating it that is — for all to see. And all the while, the food is growing cold.
I suppose I’d be admonished for being too old-fashioned when I say putting away your cameras at the dining table is only good manners, but like all things, perhaps knowing where to draw the line would be more apt in this case.
One or two shots, if you absolutely must, then away with the phones and cameras. Cherish the company of friends and family; give your food the respect it deserves and tuck in.
You’ll be surprised at how much more fulfilling your dining experience will be.
ROTARY HELPS GHANA SURPASS CLEAN WATER GOALS
For over 20 years, Michael Anyekase has crisscrossed Ghana drilling boreholes and installing hand pumps on wells to provide clean water. Water for drinking, washing, and flushing toilets.
"There is nothing more satisfying than when fresh water comes out of the well and the children shout, 'Hey, water! Water!'" says Anyekase, who works for Water in Africa, a nongovernmental organization (NGO).
In partnership with Rotary members from across the globe, Anyekase's dedication has helped eradicate Guinea worm disease and lessen the cases of dysentery, diarrhea, and other common diseases associated with dirty water. In fact, Rotary has provided more sources of drinking water in Ghana than any other NGO, Anyekase says.
Many water projects in Ghana are being carried out as part of the Rotary International/USAID H2O Collaboration. The effort is providing more than 100 villages with clean water through installation of boreholes with hand pumps, along with sanitation facilities and hygiene training.
According to a review of the partnership by Aguaconsult, an independent contractor, more than 85 percent of Ghanaians now have access to clean water, surpassing the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of 78 percent by 2015.
WATER CURES, EDUCATES
Samuel Obour, assistant governor of District 9102 and a member of the Sunyani Central club, has spearheaded several water projects. Last year, Sunyani and Canadian Rotary members installed latrines at a primary school in Sunyani and a washing station and toilets at a busy rural market, with funding from a global grant.
"We have so many people traveling from villages to the market. There was no [sanitation] facility of convenience," says Obour. Market-goers would eliminate outdoors and feces entered the water supply, he says, causing dysentery and diseases like Buruli ulcer. If caught early, this flesh-eating disease can usually be treated with antibiotics. But if left untreated, the disease causes irreversible deformity and sometimes life-threatening secondary infections. Obour and other Rotary members have worked with the Ghanaian health service to educate villagers about the importance of early detection and to supply hospitals with necessary treatment tools.
"People who thought Buruli ulcer is caused by spirits will now come to understand that they need to go to hospital for identification," says Obour.
Access to clean water brings benefits even beyond better health, including boosting children's chances of receiving a good education, or any education for that matter.
"Children wake up very early, sometimes 4 a.m., to go miles away to fetch water," says Obour. "Without water, children are not able to attend school [or] some have to go to school late." With water nearby, the burden is lifted. Children can spend more time being children. Families can spend more time being families. And life can take on a new kind of normalcy. An accomplishment that can only be achieved with a team of dedicated resources.
"Meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals is something that no organization can achieve on its own -- not even Rotary, with its 34,000 clubs and over 1.2 million members," says Ron Denham, a member of the USAID Steering Committee and the Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton, Ontario, Canada. "To be successful, we need leverage -- the leverage that comes from collaboration with others who share our goals. The most notable example of this is the international H2O collaboration."
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