Bonding over food is a time-honored tradition and a prime example living well.  From breaking bread to seal a deal, to sharing recipes, camaraderie at BBQs, or celebrating traditional events with family and friends, eating good food brings us together.  preparing meals for friends is common to all cultures and a primary source of pride in one's culture.  

The passage below is from Sally in the Galley - the galley hand on the sailing catamaran, Umineko (SeaCat).

Sato San, Umineko’s captain and owner, has a goal: to introduce cruisers around the world to okonomayaki, a traditional Japanese dish.  Okonomi, means however you like it, in Japanese so there are various types and styles of okonomayaki.  Umineko specializes in Hiroshima-style okonomayaki, or Hiroshima Pizza as Sato San likes to call it, though I’m pretty sure that’s at least partially to tease the Americans around.  Not only is okonomayaki delicious, watching it being prepared can be entertainment itself.  

In marinas around the world, Detroit, South Africa, Cuba and Australia to name a few, he has hosted okonomayaki parties bringing yachties of all different backgrounds together over a scrumptious feast.

I first tried okonomayaki at a dinner party in Darwin, Australia.  Little did I know two years later I would be Umineko’s chef, and in charge of okonomayaki preparation. 

When Ventenar, the 43’ Fontaine Pejout catamaran sailed into Marina Hemingway, just outside of Havana, I was overjoyed.  We had been the only catamaran there since the Russian Catana, Lyda, left.  The monohull cruisers were lovely but it always seems to be comforting having like-minded sailors around.

Not only were they sailing a catamaran, and like-minded people, but Globe Hackers Steven and Alex, had lived in Japan for years and spoke fluent Japanese!  How could we not invite them for an okonomayaki party!  They brought the supplies, we brought the venue, and the lobster okonomayaki. We feasted, talked and developed our new-found friendship.

Steven’s video captures the spirit of the get-together and gives a taste of that night’s okonomayaki extravaganza.  After seeing okonomayaki you’ll probably want to taste this unique dish as well!

Below is a passage from the last chapter of "The Omnivores Dilemma", by Michael Pollan. 

"Without such a thing as fast food there would be no need for slow food, and the stories we tell at such meals would lose much of their interest. Food would be...well, what is always was, neither slow nor fast, just food: this particular plant or that particular animal, grown here or there, prepared this way or that. For countless generations eating was something that took place in the steadying context of a family and a culture, where the full consciousness of what was involved did not need to be rehearsed at every meal because it was stored away, like the good silver, in a set of rituals and habits, manners and recipes. I wonder if it isn't because so much of that context has been lost that I felt the need, this one time, to start again from scratch.

This is not the way I want to eat everyday. I like to be able to open a can of stock and I like to talk about politics, or the movies, at the dinner table sometimes instead of food. But imagine for a moment if we once again knew, strictly as a matter of course, these few unremarkable things: What it is we're eating. Where it came from. How it found its way to our table. And what, in a true accounting, it really cost. WE could then talk about some other things at dinner. For we would no longer need any reminding that however we choose to feed ourselves, we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world."

"FROM THE SOURCE TO THE PLATE"

Featuring Sami, the entrepreneur, Angelo, the five star chef, Alex, the curious globe trotter, and Steven, the producer and aficionado. 

Exploring Food & Culture

  • Local cuisine and the people who produce its ingredients - we visit producers of food & food products.

  • Acquisition & Trade - Logistics from suppliers to wholesalers to retailers, restaurants, and homes.

  • Processing - how food & products are made whether at home or a factory.

  • Preparation - acquiring and preparing ingredients - recipes, techniques and cookery.

  • Sharing - the best part of a meal is sharing it with people you love - the time honored experience of eating together.

We will learn from professionals committed to their craft. At each destination, we'll experience culture, values and the good things in life. We'll explore challenges and solutions with people who love what they do and want to see things continue to evolve in a healthy and sustainable way. Along the journey from the source to the plate we'll create profound and lasting friendships full of surprises. 

We grow our community by engaging intentionally in the farm to fork process and living our vision of creative resiliency.
We bring our community together with love, warmth and hospitality over delicious, healthy food. We prioritize worker, environmental, and social justice; accessibility through affordability; and sustainability at every level. We pay a living wage.
Our producers are local, our investors local, and our long-term goals are about transforming the local economy. We source our produce and meat from nearby family farms; organize our workplace around joy and liberation; honor the land and our relationship to it; and practice interdependence with other organizations and small businesses who share our values.