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 There was once a people who lived in the land of Yim. Their Master placed them in this land and gave them a sheet of instructions to help them to raise strong and healthy children. “Feed your children well” read the instructions. Give them plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, clean water, wholesome grains, milk and eggs. Teach them how to work and give them time to run and play so they will grow strong, straight and healthy. The Master’s sheet encouraged them to share this information with everyone so that all would have the blessing of wonderful health. The people were grateful to the Master for his Sheet Of Instructions because they knew that he was the only one who understood exactly what the needs of their children were. Each family carefully followed the Instructions!
They grew orchards and planted vegetable gardens. They worked to produce good crops they all enjoyed together. In the kitchens of their homes they cut and cooked, created and tasted, served and enjoyed delicious meals. They were strong and vibrant; happy and healthy.
Of course, there was not perfect health in Yim and occasionally each and every person would get sick, but because they followed the Master's instructions so well, their bodies were strong and able to fight off disease quickly and effectively.
As time went on, some of the households grew quite large and wealthy. To help the family function well, these families would hire older children from among the Yimish to help in the kitchen. These folk were called ‘cooks' and shared with the family in the preparation and eating of all the good food.
Because the cooks devoted more time than anyone else in the community to their culinary pursuits, they were soon considered to be experts in the field and their knowledge and experience was much sought after. Many more homes began to employ cooks and the community continued in excellent health, no better or worse than before, as the cooks faithfully followed the Instruction Sheet and shared in the family meals.
There came a time when folk began to consider the idea of a community meal hall where children could all go to eat and all benefit from the expertise of the best cooks in the area. Those parents who had not been able to afford the services of a cook fell to the idea joyfully,feeling that their children, although enjoying good food and exercise, were missing out on some of the more complex, time-consuming delicacies that the cooks were able to prepare. The very wealthy, although not planning to send their own children, were happy to sponsor an idea that would help those less fortunate than themselves. Some families that had struggles to meet the cost of a private cook saw this as an opportunity for their children to enjoy the delicacies without exhausting the coffers.
And so the plan proceeded. Cooks were chosen, a meal house built, and children were seen going to and fro three times a day to the meal house. Although the families sometimes lamented the loss of their happy mealtime togetherness, all continued in good health. The parents spent more time with other adults during meal hours, and the cooks continued to faithfully produce fresh, healthy meals - consulting the Instruction Sheet whenever they felt uncertain.
Time passed and the Yimish population grew. As more villages were established, more Community Meal Halls (CMH's) were established and after a couple of generations passed, family meals had become a dim historic memory.
However, a problem began to arise when some of the cooks employed proved not to be as careful and knowledgable as was expected. "Meals were better when we went to CMH" the elders would lament. "It's not fair" wailed the cooks. "We do the best we can. It was hard to always see what the cooks were doing when we went to CMH. They didn't have time to show us everything."
Alas, it was true. The children's diet was now not so delectable, but worse, not so balanced and they became tired and listless. Quite often they would fall asleep before their parents could share a light evening supper with them - something many parents loved to do in memory of the family meal tradition. "Something must be done" was the cry and indeed a solution was proposed and implemented with all possible haste. Special institutions were set up with the sole purpose of training and equiping cooks for CMH's. The training must be sound, it must be thorough and it would take time.
As the cooks graduated from the classes they felt sure that they could better the quality of the CMH. In fact, with all that training behind them, shouldn't they be recognized in some way by society? After all, there were still mothers and fathers, still others employed in homes and schools, who were considered cooks. Were they not superior to those others with no training? Again a solution was sought. Those who had successfully completed the CMH training course were to be called ‘Chefs'.
To be continued...
By Mrs Ellen Downes, wife of Dr. Geoff Downes | 29 April 2009
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