There is no denying that we, generally, eat to live, and more or less follow the popular quote from Socrates, the Greek philosopher, who said: ‘Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.’ While he would have had his reasons for discouraging gluttony way back in the 5th century BCE, what makes that quote relatable to the present-day context is the narrowing of differences between the two connotations of food and living – with the live to eat riding in tandem with eat to live. And the inference in the latter is not to the fast food culture or the overindulgence for all things food; rather, the focus is on the unabashed declarations of love for specific foods and cuisines from everyday diners. There is a definite paradigm shift in the food culture; ‘live to eat’ is no more the gluttonous counterpart of ‘eat to live’. It is, relatively, a synonym for ‘love to eat’.
And so this issue of FACES goes on a colourful food path, without deriding or commending that saying. It explores the vibrant local culinary horizon to highlight the changing trends and the growing demands of a legion of foodies who have given in to their love for food by tracking the changes in the industry and even travelling to food destinations to realise their quest for foods – exotic, traditional, fusion… Our cover story is a celebration of these changes, with perspectives on the topic from a delivery service provider, a social media influencer and a chef. The food story continues in other segments too, as we revel in the aromas of foods captured from around the world.
The regular pages are flavoured with titbits of information on food and its eternal lure. The colourful gastronomic feast is flavoured by chefs, foodies and social media influencers who have their fingers on the food path of the country.
Come, enjoy our delectable spread on Oman’s food path!