The Life element of THPL comes together with the choices that we make each day. What we do, how we treat others, how we think, how we grow and on and on. And it seems that a key element of how fulfilling Life is relates to whom you spend time with and what do you do with them. Given the influence that my Italian grandmother had on our family it is not surprising that whenever I am in a group of more than two I love Family Style dining.
It is quite simple – for family dining all you needs is a group of friends, family, or co-workers sitting together at a dinner table with a large number of plates of food and the fun begins. There are so many aspects of family style that I like. For one it is great to be able to try so many different foods, you do not have to make hard choices between the menu items that you find appealing and you can go back for more when you find the foods you really like. It even lets you find a way to tell others of the foods that you enjoyed and you can encourage them to partake. Of course, if there is a food item that you do not like then you can avoid it and still have plenty to eat. And it all comes together with the shared experience part of the event of family dining – the shared conversation, the closeness and the just being together (you cannot have family style dining by yourself) – they all make for special times, every time.
So, I suggest that we aim to dine more and more in “family style” even if the food type might typically not be shared. Who knows, we might even just like dinner time that much better.
Loving life when eating with friends and family
Ciao
Joe