The Tale of the Gourmand

Once upon a time, there was a person whose face was known to everyone as The Gourmand or Il Buongustaio, who loved going to different places to taste, eat, talk and savor everything he could. As soon as he sat at a table, his corner would fill up with curious people because he had a lot of knowledge and dispensed advice by recounting his experiences.

As a child, he only liked a few things on the table, but gradually began to try everything because, not disliking a glass of wine, he found it fascinating to define it as one of the ingredients of the dish and was able to understand the differences. The servers looked at him in strict silence while those who had approached his table listened to his reflections.

He was served the specialties of the house and asked about the technique and which wines to pair to try to give his opinion, but did not say anything about his feelings until the next day, which was very intriguing because the long wait favored discussions and expectations became suppositions.

He had understood that getting up from the table satisfied with both the food and drink was not enough to express thoughts that made sense if he did not wait until the next day. The Gourmand respected his body as much as his mind and had understood that the ingredients made the difference.

The next day, the people around him waited for his entrance into the place to understand if everything had been to his liking, and it was immediately apparent because the trajectory was always the same. Don’t worry about the shape on a plate or the color of a wine, but only if you have digested, slept well and appreciated everything. Worry if you recognized the ingredients of that dish and if the wine accompanied it from the first to the last bite.

People reflected that often they eat out of habit and drink out of boredom, and that instead, eating with joy and drinking to discover is much better, but you can only understand this if you know your body and have the patience to wait until the next day. They returned to their usual lives, but with an added strength because they had entered the world of the Gourmand.

The Gourmand could be everyone, just by listening to the signals of the body and noticing the differences. This is how the Tale of the Gourmand ends, knowing that The Gourmand is always just around the corner.