should be worshipped

Catherine is an interior designer and lover of all things music. She is 30 years old and resides in Los Angeles, CA.

What do you typically eat in a day?

I start work really early in the morning so I either don’t eat anything or I have Belvita breakfast biscuits with coffee. Or I make a smoothie so I can drink it while I drive.

I’ve gotten really into making and perfecting my soup recipes during quarantine, so I usually make soup on Sundays and eat it throughout the week. I found this amazing Mexican chicken soup recipe and I’ve made it my own.

For dinner, I like to sautée kale, okra, and mushrooms and then put a block of extra firm tofu on top of that with soy sauce and grated ginger.

I discovered that ginger completely cures my acid reflux which I started to have for the first time ever this year. It's a godsend so I try to eat a lot of it.

I’ve been working so much that I really need low prep food. I get simple ingredients delivered because I haven’t wanted to go to the market in person lately.

What is your favorite environment to eat in?

Now because I haven’t done it in so long, I yearn to go dine with friends. I’m always nostalgic for that feeling of being at a bistro in Europe and people watching. We’ve been deprived of that: people’s chairs close together, everyone talking, ordering drinks and food. That sounds so nice right now.

What’s your favorite junk food?

Takis and Cheetos. Even thinking about it I’m starting to salivate -laughs-

Japan has amazing chocolate flavors and gummies. And I like that every region has its own specialty sweets and snacks. For example, in Hokkaido, they have these white chocolate biscuits. I love Jagabee potato sticks, which are basically french fries if they were cracker-ized.

What is your favorite health food?

One of my favorites is called mozuku. It’s seaweed in a little cup, and it's gooey and jelly-like. It’s supposed to be really healthy and maybe one of the reasons people in Okinawa live so long. What’s interesting is they eat a lot of ramen and fried food in Okinawa, though.

I like this idea that ramen and fried food lead to longevity -laughs-

What do you think of this idea of cooking and eating as art forms?

Cooking and eating are so personal. We all have our preferences and the way that we want things. I think that’s what makes it artistic, you create what you want.

In Japan, cooking and eating are essential parts of life. When I lived there I worked for SIMPLICITY, a design firm that owned and operated restaurants and wagashi stores. It was all about food, presentation, and experience.

The founder of the design firm had a background in architecture and interior design but wanted to do more than create buildings, he wanted to create experiences on every sensory level.

I would go to tastings at our restaurants and it was all about the message of the food, where it came from, the experience of the presentation and plating. Even the plates, glassware, chopsticks, etc., were designed by the firm’s product designers. They would design a plate that was meant to interact with the food in a particular way, i.e. a certain type of fish would be served on a glass plate to represent the clarity of the ocean. It was all about feeling.

It wasn’t just that design firm, either. I experience that attitude with my relatives who live in the countryside, too. Their relationship with food is incredibly detailed, and they care about the process of things. They don’t mind if something takes a long time, they associate that with good taste. The more time you spend, the more detailed and thorough you are, the better. In America, it’s often all about efficiency.

How has your relationship with food changed over time?

Growing up, my mom was really into healthy eating and didn’t consume much fat. I actually didn't have an avocado until I went to college in Boston and I’m from California -laughs- now I’ve discovered how much I love healthy fats.

In high school, I was too concerned about avoiding things that I thought were unhealthy. I ate too carefully. Like, I ate too many apples. I don’t need to eat apples all day! -laughs-

Part of it was probably body image. Then I took a figure drawing class in high school and that’s what taught me to really love curves. That changed my mentality. That was the moment when I realized I should be eating more fat.

Now I eat whatever I want and because of that, my relationship with food feels healthier. You could say that the food I eat is less healthy than before, but I have a better relationship with eating, and that matters to me more.

I've thought a lot about the relationship different countries have with food. In America, I think food can be used to fill a void. In Japan, you literally put food on the altar of your ancestors every night. Here, food is looked at as the enemy when it should be worshipped.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.