Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Food for Thought

“Here at Finargo we serve only the best of meats and wines. Our steaks for instance, are cut only from the underbelly of a grain-fed cow imported from Greenland, where the slightly chilled climate there is supposed to enhance the refreshing taste of the meat”

“Greenland you say? But isn’t Greenland filled with…ice? How do the cows survive?”

“Oh, that’s simple. Our suppliers have heat houses for the cows to sleep in if they ever get cold. Every morning they are pushed out into the ice, where special bags of grain feed and littered across the fields. This encourages them to look for food – toughens the muscle and flavors the beef. Wondrous combination, don’t you think?”

“Indeed, I can see where the exquisite flavor comes from…if you don’t mind, what happens to the rest of the cow?”

“What?”

“The rest of the cow. The other parts of it. The thighs, for instance. Or the flesh on its back perhaps. All the well…other pieces of meat.”

“Ah. I see. You won’t happen to be a member of the Food Conservationists, Mr. Wight?”

“No, just curious”

“Well, in the case which you may happen to meet one, they can be reassured that here we are most err…Conserving” he continues, “to answer your question, Mr. Wight, the excess meat is recycled and put to excellent use.”

“Recycled? Are you telling me that Finargo, the finest dining restaurant in the pacific ocean uses recycled-”

“No no, nothing of that sort sir, merely reusing of parts in other areas, and most definitely not food. The human palate is a most precious thing, we cannot soil it with meat like that! No, you see the hundreds of candles about the floor? Each wick is a carefully crafted slice of meat, soaked in oils and wax. When burned, they give of this most wonderful aroma…”

“Ah…I see. That explains the strong smell of roast that so many customers adore.”

“Yes! Though of course, most meats don’t burn too well, so they must first be treated with spices and herbs obtained from one of the last jungles in the Asian continent.”

“Expensive”

“Without a doubt, Mr. Wight. But all this is worth it in the end, don’t you agree? The restaurant spends much on its customers, for the customers. People do not eat here to be filled after all, they eat for the experience. Now I’m sure you would like to sample our most exotic dish yet - elephant’s trunk boiled with 52 rare herbs for three weeks until tender and soft…”

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Just a musing from my mind. Perhaps a story undeveloped in time.

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