Sensual Cooking: Taste

Each post in the Sensual Cooking series will focus on one of the senses through which we experience our world. This is the final installment.

The most important sense regarding the enjoyment of food is obviously taste. The other senses only come into play when taste is comparable, and you need a tie breaker. The other senses may get you in the door, but taste keeps you coming back. It makes me recall a time when I was going to school at Central Missouri was introduced to a barbecue joint just south of campus called Perry Foster’s.

Some say calling Perry Foster’s a joint or dive is a generous assessment. I hear several rumors about the, uh, establishment indicating that their relationship with the health department is not the best. In fact, when a friend invites me there for lunch I want to decline. His reply? Taste and see.

Perry Foster's BBQ, Warrensburg, Mo

From the outside, it looked more like a single family dwelling than a restaurant; only the hand-painted sign gave indication otherwise. The inside was lined with wood paneling and featured a wall of autographed “celebrity” photos. The celebrities included a few Kansas City Chiefs football players, country singers Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams Jr. and what appeared to be an assortment of women from the adult entertainment industry. When I considered leaving, my friend challenged me. Taste and see.

The portions were tremendous. The meat on this “sandwich” eclipsed the bread as the sides were haphazardly slapped on a paper plate. The drinks came from a cooler, still in a can, which was in some ways a blessing. After I discreetly wipe the top of the can before opening it, I stare at the plate – hesitate – taste and see.

I have enjoyed barbecue from Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas and Memphis in the South and Kansas City and St. Louis in the Midwest. The barbecue I tasted that day compares with the best. Many critics have attacked the cleanliness or atmosphere of Perry Foster’s, but few have disputed the taste.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see. As a phrase, it means more than using our physical senses. Explore. Experience. Discover.

Many people have tried to judge the Christian faith from the outside. People measure it from distorted accounts of church history. Others criticize it by atrocities committed by various misguided groups in the name of Christianity. Maybe they are jaded by political leaders trying to capture the “Christian demographic”, whatever that is. Perhaps they were scarred in what they view as a Christian home or by a minister. Some use science to discount faith altogether. Few deny that Jesus was a “good teacher”. Ghandi is often quoted as saying, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” For those who distrust Christianity, what hope is there to taste and see?

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Matthew 5:13

Salt is used to season and preserve. It changes the flavor of the food. Jesus called his followers to be salt and light. He called them to go into the world to make a difference. To be a contrast from the rest of the world by their speech and behavior. As Matthew 5:16, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. In other words, be salt and light so others can taste and see.