As soon as cooking started its way, survival eating stopped - and we started eating to enjoy ourselves.
When our nutritional needs were no longer the main emphasis, cooking put it on the tastes, appearance and smell.
Does taste come at the expense of our health, and are these contradictory concepts?
As time progresses, awareness of health and especially healthy nutrition increases.
We talked about this and several other burning issues with Tamar Ayalon and Roi Ezer, the owners of the health and vegan cafe "Anastasia" on Frishman Street in Tel Aviv.
We tried to understand if healthy culinary is a trend that will continue to grow, how to turn a health approach into a culinary one and if this is a niche or if the future of health will also reach the mainstream areas.
In a rough generalization, is it possible to declare that actually "cooking is not health"?
Ayalon: "You can't say that in a blanket way, but yes. Basically, the primary goal of cooking is first of all to respond to the taste and smell glands and to look good, and not much more than that."
Ezer: "Today in the culinary world there is a perceptual connection that the oilier the tastier. You can see this in the frequent use of butter and frying. It accustoms us to these tastes and also normalizes our everyday life to eat it. When we opened the restaurant, we had the responsibility before our eyes And the right we have in feeding our customers nutritious, healthy, high-quality food, meticulous and uncompromising on taste, even if it sometimes comes at the expense of damaging profitability. It is possible to be a foodie and healthy."
"People miss the maximum of the taste."
Ezer and Ayalon, photo: Assaf Arouati
Why does the word "healthy" discourage restaurant diners? Do you encounter this in yours too?
Ezer: "I agree with them. It is very possible that the healthy foods they ate in the past were not tasty, people want to enjoy themselves. You can prepare healthy and delicious food, you just need to learn how to do it. People often do not specialize in handling the raw materials that are considered healthy, and thus they miss out The maximum flavor of the dish is because of this. The flavors today that the majority of the population experiences are very, very strong and very unnatural flavors - salty, sweet, spicy, flavor enhancers - that people who don't experience it, it tastes less good to them. It takes time to change your tastes."
For many years, health and culinary were opposite concepts. Little by little they are getting back together - why do you think this is happening?
Ezer: "Until a few years ago, the connection between cooking and health was very marginal. You could find it mainly at smoothie and juice stands or health workshops, but it didn't really enter into the dishes themselves in restaurants. In the general perception, health was not something that knew how to provide an eating experience Delicious, exciting and innovative culinary. The connection between the things is getting tighter for the reason that the age of information abundance created awareness, which itself made it happen. It created demand for it."
Ayalon: "The relationship is getting tighter as awareness grows. The food we eat has a great impact on our bodies, on our health and on how we feel. From this point of view, change is really required. Until recently, people who wanted to eat healthy, simply could not eat out. Nutritious food And tasty is a concept that should and can work and be available to us outside the home as well."
Ezer: "In the past, the more 'finished' you were after eating, it was a more positive thing. It meant that the meal was good because you 'exploded,' but today it is not necessarily like that. People are looking for a different experience, something new. Today you can also find Chef and Michelin restaurants that make the connection between health and cooking. It's a very interesting challenge in the culinary worlds, to take the obvious into innovative areas."
"We see more use of vegetables."
Soba salad at "Anastasia", photo: Assaf Aruati
How do you manage to create a hunger-inducing approach to healthy food?
Ayalon: "We don't put health as the first thing people see when they come in. Our dishes are colorful and attractive, and after finishing the meal you feel good and want to experience it again and continue the day with high energy. In general, the body is lighter."
Ezer: "Sometimes small choices make big changes. Instead of white sugar, we choose maple, instead of white flour, we choose wholemeal flour - but the dishes look and sound like dishes you can find in any cafe. This early familiarity makes you want to eat them, but the raw materials can't just be tasty, but also of some health value."
What does the average person need to do to change their perception of taste and health?
Ezer: "It's all a matter of time, habits and tastes change. As soon as we eat something that is less processed and packaged and closer to its original form, it is healthier. If we think about the source and how much it went through to reach the accumulated state it is today, we can understand alone the distance of the product or the portion to our health. We are the ones who have to make this distinction."
"When chefs collaborate with the original taste, they get closer to health, and this is the direct way to allow the palate to get used to it. With getting used to it, the food becomes tastier. For those who find it difficult to make the changes, you can do it slowly and carefully and examine the physical change you feel. We do see More and more use of vegetables and less of heavy fried and long cooking."
"Anastasia" is a vegan restaurant, but a significant part of its diners are not necessarily vegan. How do you explain this?
Ezer: "'Anastasia' touches a wide audience, and from the first moment it was not intended only for vegans and health-conscious people. We offer our offerings to everyone and this allows people a different, delicious and uncompromising culinary experience. In our opinion, health is something that touches a very specific target audience. The vast majority come Because he knows they will get a delicious and different meal."
Healthcare has become financially viable.
Breakfast at "Anastasia", photo: Assaf Aruati
How do you manage to get children and adults to eat healthy and have it still be mainstream?
Ezer: "Sometimes the small changes make a big difference, for example baking in the oven instead of frying, using whole grain rice instead of white rice, eating plenty of vegetables at the beginning of the meal. It's important that the food looks good and stimulating, familiar but also intriguing, to speak in a language familiar to children."
Ayalon: "I think it's also a question of education, a culture of healthy food. My children saw healthy food at home and now they demand it even when we eat out."
And finally, what do you think about entities that take advantage of the "health trend" for marketing purposes?
Ezer and Ayalon: "It makes us happy and excited that the healthy card has become financially profitable. The big companies are doing it - and that's where many see 'green' branding. Words like low-fat, reduced sugar or probiotic increase sales."
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