Meals are memories. For some, it's recalling a menu with play-by-play precision, even more so when the chef is a skilled artisan who transforms raw ingredients into culinary masterpieces through meticulous technique, creativity, and a deep understanding of tastes and textures. Others are more tuned into who was around the table or where the meal occurred. It's typically more of the latter for me as I gravitate to feelings over flavor, although my earliest food-related memory, which goes back to kindergarten, is an acerbic one. A lesson on the five basic tastes involved bitter being represented by cocoa. Mistakenly thinking the provided sample was Nestle Nesquik, I eagerly swallowed an entire spoonful before the teacher could intervene. Thankfully, my grandparents lived across the street from the school, so I received an early dismissal that spared me from finishing the day with a pinafore covered in spit-up cocoa.

Text: Bridget Cottrell