Just recently, I found myself directly across the road from Syntagma Square for work purposes.
Detached from culture, globalised in nature, the buffet service of a seminar/workshop held in the middle of a capital city rarely reminds us of our present location. It is often devoid of any signs of place.
Tea and coffee served in tall thermos flasks, slices of cold chocolate cake, flaky croissants, shortbread biscuits in assorted shapes and colours: some dipped in chocolate, others rolled in coconut, some with a cherry pressed into their middle - whatever their variation, they all taste the same...
Clear jugs of cherry and orange cordial, ice-cold bottles of water sweating away in an air-conditioned room, stem glasses topped with the hotel's logo and jars full of boiled sweets...
Steaming trays of spaghetti, jugs of bolognaise and carbonara sauce, a platter of something resembling Greek salad with chunks of unripe cucumber and overly firm tomatoes, a bowl of mushy dense potato salad, a tray of meat patties, another of slices of roast pork, and another of roast chicken pieces, with not a meat bone in sight, some pallid roast potatoes on the side, accompanied by an assortment of bread types: white and wholemeal sesame seed buns, again all tasting the same, only their appearance differentiating them, and plenty of fizzy drinks ot wash everything down with...
More tea, more coffee, more water, all sitting next to the prettiest petit four collection: creamy choux balls, fruity tarts and chocolate eclairs, and you'd never guess by their bright colours and different shapes that they too would all taste the same.
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
Detached from culture, globalised in nature, the buffet service of a seminar/workshop held in the middle of a capital city rarely reminds us of our present location. It is often devoid of any signs of place.
Tea and coffee served in tall thermos flasks, slices of cold chocolate cake, flaky croissants, shortbread biscuits in assorted shapes and colours: some dipped in chocolate, others rolled in coconut, some with a cherry pressed into their middle - whatever their variation, they all taste the same...
Clear jugs of cherry and orange cordial, ice-cold bottles of water sweating away in an air-conditioned room, stem glasses topped with the hotel's logo and jars full of boiled sweets...
Steaming trays of spaghetti, jugs of bolognaise and carbonara sauce, a platter of something resembling Greek salad with chunks of unripe cucumber and overly firm tomatoes, a bowl of mushy dense potato salad, a tray of meat patties, another of slices of roast pork, and another of roast chicken pieces, with not a meat bone in sight, some pallid roast potatoes on the side, accompanied by an assortment of bread types: white and wholemeal sesame seed buns, again all tasting the same, only their appearance differentiating them, and plenty of fizzy drinks ot wash everything down with...
More tea, more coffee, more water, all sitting next to the prettiest petit four collection: creamy choux balls, fruity tarts and chocolate eclairs, and you'd never guess by their bright colours and different shapes that they too would all taste the same.
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
Now that you mentioned it, all of it does really taste the same. I suppose that if the food was really delicious, everyone would be thinking about what they're going to try next, instead of concentrating on the seminar. Maybe? :)
ReplyDeletei can safely say that the discussion was more interesting than the food!
DeleteHmmmm....I know exactly what you mean, Maria! I really have become pretty "picky" about food. There is so much out there that is not very good. And...why eat anything that is not very good?
ReplyDeleteEven foraged food can be prepared to taste good, and in fact, can be the tastiest food around.
I don't want to sound spoiled, I just think food should be prepared to the best of one's ability, and not in a lazy or indifferent way. Enough said!
the food was a good display of professional catering - i'm used to my own wokplace's catering, which always has a regional bias to it, perhaps becos the chef is well trained, he is local and he places importance on local seasonal food, so i was surprised that this could not be achieved in a similar way in the capital of greece, at the very heart of the city!
Delete