There is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel, that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.

Sharing our meals should be a joyful and a trustful act, rather than the cursory fulfillment of our social obligations.

Dining partners, regardless of gender, social standing, or the years they've lived, should be chosen for their ability to eat - and drink! - with the right mixture of abandon and restraint. They should enjoy food, and look upon its preparation and its degustation as one of the human arts.

Good wine, well drunk, can lend majesty to the human spirit.

Most bereaved souls crave nourishment more tangible than prayers: they want a steak.

Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg until it is broken.

Wine and cheese are ageless companions, like aspirin and aches, or June and moon, or good people and noble ventures.