I was chatting to my friend Jess about chocolate (she brought some lovely stuff to Clergy Conference) and chocolate preferrences, and explained that while I prefer “Ganache” style chocolates, I love the “theatre” of my favourite “block” chocolate that comes in a tobacco pouch styled wrapper.
It got me thinking about food & theatre.
Personally, I’m not that into some of the stuff they have in Masterchef. I don’t think I’ll ever spend half an hour working out how to make a “sea mist” appear on my plate, or go all Heston, making things that look like a vegetable, but made out of meat… but I do think some kind of theatre with food is important. It may be as simple as a tiny ritual that connects you to memory & makes the whole experience sweeter.
When I open a bottle or can of diet coke, I love to suck up the tiny bit of mist that is trapped between the drink & the lid… It’s like a cola-mist that transports me back to being a teenager at a beach…
I like the theatre attached to eating oreo cookies, breaking apart the two biscuits, but trying to keep all of the fondant attached to just one… Likewise every M&M is a treat for me when I have to try & crack off all of the shell without breaking any of the chocolate inside…
So, is there a piece of food theatre that brings you joy?
Tim Goldsmith 
Cracking the hard caramel on a creme bruléé.
Eating all the chocolate off a crunchie first then letting the honey comb dissolve on my tongue.
sucking the chocolate coating from jaffas and maltesers. Watching the Brownian motion in a pot of tea brewinf (it’s why I have a fancy glass teapot…)
Listening intently to the first glass of Bailey’s being poured from a new bottle (only works for the first glass!)…
I also crack the chocolate off M&Ms, but I eat them in colour patterns too (though I don’t know if that equates to ‘food theatre’ or just odd/eccentric/a little bit Asperges…)
Eating all the crust from around the outside of my toast, then folding it in half to finish…
Turning my tea cup a full turn before I drink it…