There’s one thing that unites most living creatures on this reasonably beautiful planet Earth. It’s definitely not religion, language, or genetic makeup. We’re talking about food. While seeking sustenance is more of a biological survival need than a hobby, some people are able to mix the two to make that bodily obligation into an experience that’s a little more satisfying.
While archaeologists admit that the exact origins of cooking are unknown, we do know that at some point after the discovery of fire, humans began roasting food in its flames. As much as we all like some fire-cooked meat, the tactic was more utilitarian than culinary. Cookingfoods makes them more digestible, so it’s no wonder the method took off. Fast forward a million years and we’re obsessed with elaborate, high stakes cooking shows such as Top Chef and Guy Fieri’s Tournament of Champions. The culinary trend of molecular gastronomy has us eating foams and jellies. And we worship celebrity chefs (hello, Gordon Ramsay) as passionately as we do our favorite actors. Things have come a long way since we started eating hunks of charred wooly mammoth.
Because food has become a respected industry, as well as a beloved hobby, it’s seeped into most areas of culture. There are still-lives of carefully arranged fruit in nearly every fine arts museum. Gluttony is featured in many a film (La Grande Bouffe is a favorite) – and then, so are eating disorders. The dishes we eat (and the act of cooking them) have even infiltrated meme culture, resulting in memes in praise – and protest – of almost any cuisine under the sun. For every meme that celebrates the perfect pizza, there’s another with a cursed combination of toppings. Some food memes have their own sort of celebrity. Who knew that spilling beans in a movie theater would lead to meme ubiquity? Whether a meme is about a cursed glizzy or Thanksgiving dinner, it’s the topic of food that makes it valuable to almost any internet user. So, basically, these food memes (ranging from unappetizing to relatable) belong to everyone.
