Curate Yourself

I don't normally read anything that would be considered appropriate for this course because I don't usually read or watch anything with a a strong activism base or special form that's interesting to literature. What I am really passionate about is food. More specifically, the amount of misinformation and negative attitude towards food and diets. I feel like this issue is worse in colleges, where it's a badge of honor to not have eaten for x amount of time because "I was working", or "I haven't eaten anything but instant noodles all week". On the flip side, it's also frustrating to see people say they're unable to eat "healthy" because kale is disgusting, or fresh produce is more expensive than frozen foods. I think these ideas come from misconceptions of food, and what is healthy. The usual argument for frozen/junk foods being cheaper than cooking yourself calculates items such as spinach, chicken breast, and so on. However, these budgets or comparisons never factor in the food that's cheap, and still equally healthy, such as root vegetables and fatty cuts of meat. 

I feel strongly towards being able to eat good food and maintaining good health, since I don't believe it involves putting chia seeds in multigrain sides to complement boiled chicken tenderloin strips. I personally like to spend time every day preparing meals because I believe eating better lets you work better. Even if it seems like it's taking a lot away from your work time, you can't get the most worth out of your quarter-million dollar degree if you're dead or perpetually on medication to keep your body functioning. Everything we were originally made to do - eat, and sleep - should be given extra care to; it's a large part of both mental and physical well-being.

That being said, I think one of the important steps to start prioritizing satisfying food in life is to know more about it. Just knowing the history of recipes, what makes certain dishes taste good, and different kinds of ingredients can naturally lead to a wider variety of food you consume. Food doesn't need to be laden with trans fats or pounds of sugar to be satisfying, and these works showcase such dishes - or in one case, drinks.

Nobunaga no Chef, or Nobunaga's Chef, is a period piece that not only serves to teach about the nutrition of ingredients as well as a bit of history behind certain dishes. Since it's taking place in the Warring States period of Japan, it also helps those who have difficulty remembering who betrayed what as there's distinct faces and simplified personalities to put to the names.

Simply named Bartender, the series follows a young bartender as he works through his personal issues and strives to become the perfect bartender, one tat can provide the best service to the tired souls who wander through the bar doors. I think asides from teaching you very specific cocktail recipes, this manga also teaches empathy and tolerance. From American movies, to quotes from classic literary works, Bartender gives a brief, sometimes romanticized, history behind every liquor and cocktail. Mixed with dynamic characters each with their own struggles, from politicians to art curators, Bartender gives a delightful spin on cramming your brain with movie and book trivia.

For those who would rather read something more light-hearted and follows the 3 pillars of classic shounen manga of friendship, effort, and victory, Shokugeki no Soma is an easy series to binge read. Equally filled with great recipes and bits of cooking know-how of technique and theory, Shokugeki is probably the closest to "entertainment" of these three, but not lacking in knowledge to absorb.

Other cooking mangas I also enjoy:

• Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) - more like a walk through of recipes, but wrapped with a light story of a gay couple living in Japan, where it's not yet accepted by older generations. Generally just about the ingredients and recipes, there's enough story and touching interactions between the couple to generate interest just when the recipes get too tiring.

• Yakitate!! - Like Shokugeki, this manga is shounen manga with all the tropes that come with it. The story follows a genius boy and his attempt at creating the perfect bread that Japanese people who love rice will like. He calls these "ja-pan" (pan is bread in Japanese/Spanish haha get it). With a lot of nonsense over top, there's still real recipes tucked in between chapters, and knowledge drawn from the author's own dedicated research.
• Shinya Shokudou (Midnight Diner) - the scans are no longer easily available. They can still be found here but most sources had them taken down after Netflix did a live adaptation. For this one, however, I recommend the Netflix series above the manga. The manga has less focus, and is more of a laid-back read. While not a bad thing, the Netflix series really honed in on the touching stories and interesting characters, as well as improved the pacing and storytelling of the manga.