A Shared Table

This past week I have been in Las Vegas (of all places) at a conference (that is a story for another day). We were scheduled to fly home straight after the conference but due to mechanical problems, we missed our connecting flight and this meant we spent an unexpected day in San Francisco. It was interesting to watch the reaction of other passengers to this news. I decided to treat it as a bonus and to make the most of having a day to explore San Francisco. It would be fair to say that many others weren’t quite as excited as I was – but we still all spent that extra day in San Francisco.

What I wanted to share with you was an experience I enjoyed in an extraordinary eatery that I stumbled across in the very popular and trendy “Ferry Building” down on the harbour-side (www.bouletteslarder.com).

Being winter over there I was drawn to this little café and larder – I’m not sure whether it was from the food I saw being served or the actual warmth of the place. However despite these it had a special energy and I’m certain that this is what attracted me. As I stepped inside I felt an air of calm and peace. The staff seemed to be genuinely pleased to serve us (as opposed to the more contrived service we experienced in Las Vegas).

I was attracted to a large wooden shared table for twelve just inside the door. It was laid simply with vases of fresh flowers. “Boulette”, the long-haired beloved, resident sheep-dog lay asleep under the table and as a bonus he was happy to be used as a big woolly rug to keep our feet warm. The kitchen stoves and ovens were close to the table – large benches and a huge canopy housing the copper pots and utensils added to the homely feel. It reminded me of a large country kitchen.

What was so remarkable was that there were five chefs quietly, calmly and efficiently preparing our meals in close proximity to our table. Each chef was fully focused on their work and I could almost feel their warm, positive energy transfer to the food they were preparing. This kitchen was quiet and calm (almost soulful) – nothing like the loud, raucous and hostile kitchens made famous by some TV chefs. The food on offer was seasonal and sourced from local farmers – a relationship respected and developed over the past 30 years between the farmers and the owner of the café.

The café embraced “slow food” principles. Slow Food is an international organisation made up of convivia (regional or local groups). Members of each convivium are people who are interested in food and who value local, seasonal food, prepared traditionally (often by methods passed down through families). For more about the Slow Food movement go to www.slowfood.com

I am a great believer in food having its own energy and taking on the energy of those who prepare it. If a meal is prepared with love and care, then the food takes on some of that energy and when we eat it we get the benefits. I also think there is magic in a shared table – something that unfortunately in today’s hectic world tends to be reserved only for celebrations like Christmas and birthdays.

My meal was beautiful. I had scrambled eggs (cooked to perfection) on sour dough bread. These were teamed with shaved turnip, radish and pieces of pomegranate. A touch of lemon-infused olive oil was splashed over the top just to balance the flavours. My colleague commented that this was the only meal I had actually finished on the whole trip! And she was right – not only did the food taste amazing but the whole experience was very nurturing.

I believe the attitude the chefs brought to the whole experience was the most important thing. It was obvious to me as I watched them work that they were very focused and nurturing in their attitude to the food they were preparing and that they cared about me as a diner.

This was the quintessential dining experience – one that only comes along occasionally. It was an experience to be relished and remembered.

I hope you get a chance this season to share a leisurely, lovingly cooked meal with friends and family. I hope that you get an opportunity to take on the wonderful energy of those around you and of food that has been thoughtfully prepared. And that you are nourished on all levels – something that cannot be bought but is a most precious gift.


I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and would like to express my heart felt thanks for your support in 2008. I hope your experience at Mammoth is like my experience at Boulettes Larder. We are overwhelmed with your response and support and thank you for spending some time with us this year.

Merry Christmas and we hope you have a Wonderful and Healthy 2009.

Mary

Live Better. Together we Can Make a Difference.

Live Better. Together We Can Make a Difference

I was recently having a coffee with a colleague and we were discussing our personal philosophy; our mantra. It got me thinking. How could I put in one statement what I was about and what my life's work was about? At work, (at Mammoth Health) we’re about more than just addressing illness with supplements and diet. We are also about living our lives to their full potential. Healthy, vital people are more likely to be happy and when we are happy we have a positive impact on everyone we meet and they in turn leave a positive impact on the people they meet (the ripple effect…). We are also about reducing our carbon footprint – treading more lightly on the earth, living a more sustainable life and preserving the environment for future generations. We’re about being conscious of what we eat, where it comes from and whether a fair price has been paid to those who produce it for us. And we’re about living a deliberate, full life where what we do makes a difference.

So my one statement mantra is:

'Live Better. Together We Can Make a Difference.'

We are more than just our physical selves – we are mind, body and soul and together they make up who we are. Our mind, our body and our soul empower us to live optimally; to live fully and to live deliberately and to really know that we can make a difference.

Mind: to live better we need to continually learn new things; to challenge ourselves, to broaden our parameters and see things for what they are. In this fast changing world with many scientists now warning that global warming is the most immediate and urgent challenge we are likely to face in our lifetime we will need to develop resilience.
I have also set myself the challenge of being more curious and on that note I recently learned that my IT guy, Toby has pet tree frogs! I was so fascinated and intrigued when he told me about them – their diet, their different personalities etc. that I decided to learn more about tree frogs. So this week I’m going to expand my mind and discover the wonderful world of tree frogs. What new thing are you going to learn about this week?

Body: it is not until our body breaks down that we fully appreciate the fact that we often take it for granted. Most of us don’t value our health until we are unwell. The food we eat, the exercise we do and the relaxation and leisure activities we pursue all impact on our body which in turn impacts on the way we think and the way we act.
Just remember that feeling of the ‘morning after’ a big night out indulging in too much alcohol, junk food and limited sleep. Our tolerance levels are low, our mood is compromised. We feel tired, under the weather and in no way open to living fully and optimally. Then bring that back to every day living and the way we choose to live. By feeding our body daily with healthy, whole, unprocessed foods (vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, fish & lean meats) cooked lovingly, without additives and preservatives, to nourish our bodies, we can have a positive influence on our thinking and our actions.

By making a commitment to exercise regularly and to deliberately set aside time daily to relax and pursue leisure activities we are valuing our bodies, treating them with reverence and respect and empowering ourselves to live fully.

I have noticed in the past week I have been so caught up in the end of financial year hysteria that I have made no time for my regular walk. As a result I’ve got to the weekend exhausted, feeling sluggish and not as ‘vital’ and open to life as I could be. I also know that when I don’t make time to exercise I don’t have my healthy release of stress and instead have resorted to coffee and chocolate to keep me going – but ironically this has contributed to me living sub-optimally. So this week I have deliberately scheduled into my diary my exercise time – I have changed some appointments so I can commit to exercise because I know I will live better! What are you going to do differently this week to live better?

Soul: our soul is essentially who we are; our spirituality and what we value in life. Most people value family and community and the importance of connectedness within family and community. I believe the most urgent issue in our lifetime will be to live sustainably; reduce our carbon footprint and tread more lightly on the earth. I believe that as individuals we can make a difference. It is very easy to perceive problems as so big and global and out of our control that we feel powerless to make any difference at all. But it is truly the decision and the action of the ‘ordinary’ person –you and me - that will eventually force change. I don’t believe that inherent change comes from extremists, or from governments. It comes from within communities - how we deliberately choose to live our lives. I noticed in The Age on Wednesday (2nd July 2008) a story about a group of locals from Daylesford who are so committed to renewable energy that they have spent years consulting with and educating their local community about it. They have highlighted how simple and clean wind farms are and how they create an energy source that is sustainable and has a low impact on the environment. As a result of their commitment to renewable energy they have created a community corporation where ownership is structured to prevent a takeover by a large corporation. (About half of the investors are local residents interested in supporting a secure clean local energy supply.
Link: http://www.hepburnwind.com.au)

'Live Better. Together We Can Make a Difference'
…because it's not a rehearsal