Jane Mary Guimarães Lutti (photo) is a writer, journalist and advertising agent in the Brazilian city of Avaré, in the state of São Paulo. Brought up in a Spiritist family, she addresses here an issue that has often been ignored: our eating habits. Food is closely associated with our affections, encounters and with charity. It must be taken into account in the context of coexistence. As she explains in this interview, we must get rid of our automatic food choices and embrace food awareness:

How did you get interested in Brazilian Cuisine, to the point of concluding a university degree and a postgraduate degree on the issue?

When I developed an interest in eating habits and food culture, I realised how much we, in Brazil, suffer the impact of Eurocentric tastes and ingredients, as a legacy of colonisation. That prevents us from challenging the prevailing habits. We end up not considering the “Brazilian taste” and the ingredients that are typically Brazilian, those who were originally cultivated in our lands. As I got more interested in food as a subject of research, I realised I needed to understand more about what we had, especially our biomes. We must find out more about Brazilian cuisine. It should be taught in schools.  

What does the expression Affectionate Cuisine entail?

Affectionate Cuisine or Cooking is a concept that goes beyond the habit of remotely exchanging recipes or memories. It is a reflection about the emotional impact that our personal relations and our daily choices have on us, based on the dynamics involved in the cooking process. It shapes the way we see life and how we create memories. 

How do those memories affect our daily habits and behaviour?

I think they have an impact on everything we do outside the kitchen: if you care for the preparation, the ingredients, the time spent cooking and if you reuse food, all that will have an impact on how you relate with other people. The kitchen teaches us how to be patient, how to care, to train and prepare and how to focus totally in the present moment. All that in a pleasant manner. 

What advice would you give to our readers, taking into account the wide range of food available and the creativity involved in the cooking process?

I would advise them to go back to the kitchen and prepare their own meals. I see that as a necessity these days, as we witness the growth of the ultra processed food industry. We are getting too lazy to prepare our own food. But that is something we should do, at least three times a day. It’s a matter of looking after our own health and wellbeing. 

Where does charity come into that process, which involves feeding and coexisting?

Empathy is the key word: when you understand what hunger is, the urge of our next meal, it’s no longer possible to ignore our brothers and sisters who have the same human needs. Hunger is a condition that allows us to turn our attention to other people. 

Do you consider that the pleasant atmosphere that we enjoy in meetings at the dinner or the coffee table with our friends or relatives is important also for spiritual progress?

It’s difficult to imagine a location where decisions are made, where people talk, discuss, learn and share their joy without a table in the middle. The table is a connecting point between other people and us. In a meeting where we share either wisdom, knowledge or food, we hear each other or we feed, nourish and look after each other. That’s where we absorb the affection we get from others, the vitamins from the food we eat or the gratitude for the opportunity of being in a meeting of incarnated Spirits. To sit at the table is a gesture of dedication or a lull. The more often we do it, I believe the closer we will get to reconcile with others or to strengthen our relationships. 

What would you like to say to our readers based on your professional experience in this area?

Our food and our eating habits should be studied and discussed by everyone, regardless of their professional background. Do look after your kitchen, get to know your favourite flavours, prepare your own food. And get to understand the impact that food has on your body, your health and your mood. We all need to do that in a less automated way. 

Tell us a bit more about your book.

It's called "Comida é Memória - 23 histórias de aquecer o coração" (“Food is Memory - 23 Stories to Warm Up the Heart”) and it has been published by Labrador. It is an entirely personal recollection of events in my life. I analyse and philosophise about the people I’ve met using food and food culture as the lenses to express what I feel. My aim is to share those stories and to encourage readers to make their own journey through their kitchen memories and experiences. 

How can we get the book?

It's available on Amazon and at the Labrador website, both in print and as an e-book. You will also be able to find it in the Villa Bookshops in São Paulo, Brasília and Belo Horizonte and other book shops across the country. For those willing to buy an autographed book, with a written dedication, you can contact us on WhatApp + 55 11 96920-4945 or via Instagram account @GastrôLité.

On Amazon - LINK-1