(header picture by L. Stokes)
ahoj & thank you for stopping by. i’m pierre mourier, a bit of a globe-trotter, econ undergrad and knowledge worker. i love traveling, reading about affairs, business, culture, design, economics, politics, philosophy, strategy & practicing mobility and simplicity.
i am grateful for the people i meet and the opportunities i am presented with. let me share with you my thoughts, travel stories, and curiosities collected along the way. thank you for your time and kind attention.
|
bintan, indonesia. january 2008
who needs a playstation when you can have a boat!
bird’s nest street light. montelimar, south of france, junio 2008
pomodoro
I was brought up in an extraordinary food environment. take south of France and its culinary marvels, add my dad’s network of (unlabeled, off the beaten track, off the record, off the shelf) food providers, not to mention the family’s women superior cooking skills: as a result, we were locavores long before the word was coined. but I was passive and picky. very picky. getting me to eat was a challenge. some people listen to hard rock, some smoke pot; I was trying to catch people’s attention by refusing to eat 80% of whatever was on my plate.
growing up, I moved out and for 3 years ordered more food that the average human in its lifetime (and did not put on a single pound). mcdonalds, check. bk, check. pizza hut, check. kopi tiam, nouilles dépôt, hungry jack’s, triple check.
It is throught Michael Pollan, uc berkeley pProfessor, journalist and food expert, that I received a proper introduction to food. not nutrition, food. In all its biological, economical and cultural aspects. in his book, the Omnivore’s dilemma, “Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the american way of eating”.
I look back on my early years as an “eater” as a paradise that I will strive to recreate my whole life. I had it all, food-wise, and must now take an active role in recreating this healthy feeding system.
I derive many pleasures from the act of cooking. first, as an young economist, a trip to the supermarket always turn into a field trip. whether it is what to buy, who to buy it from, and choosing when to choose (see B. Schwartz’s 19 minute talk for everything you need to know about Choice). then, taking the time, time for yourself, time for person you’re cooking for. also, enjoy the fact that you are the value-adder. Kraft ain’t making a penny out of it.
if you belong to the fast food nation, I urge you to read Pollan’s book. Your body, mind, soul and planet will thank you.
jane 12.16pm on October 16, 2008 Permalink
lol, gonna check the book and my food. =)
ps. i never knew you are so picky to food.