Wednesday, October 3 2007
In Praise of Hedonism
Hedonism is the theory that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important calling for mankind. I got to thinking about this because of an encounter I had with a radio personality the other day. I was recording a series of spots for an on-air promotion, and I had dragged along a case of wine for sampling and instructive purposes. My host averred that he loved wine, but he really wasn't a 'connoisseur'. I've heard this time and again from people who are worried they don't know enough about wine to discuss it with a supposed expert, so I gave him my standard answer: a connoisseur is someone who knows the difference between what they like and what they don't like, and seeks to maximise the former, and minimise the latter. So, if you have enough skill to figure out what pleases you, you are by default already a connoisseur.
But it's sometimes a tangled path to the pursuit of pleasure. Too much of a good thing leads to unpleasantness, a fact that Epicurus of Samos figured out over two dozen centuries ago, but competing schools of philosophy debated well into modern times. John Stuart Mill said that quality counted: intensely happy fun in small doses was better than a broad swath of moderate pleasure. Jeremy Bentham was more of the rugby-player school: plenty o' party and keep it coming was his bang-for-buck ideal.
Connoisseurs?
I'm with Epicurus: balance is the key to good clean fun. Although I do have eight or ten thousand bottles of wine in my cellar, I'm not going to try to drink them all Wednesday afternoon. On the other hand, I do have a jokey business card that describes my occupation as 'Hedonic Consultant' . . .
I've had some fabulously hedonistic meals, including sushi eaten right at the Tsukiji fish market, four hours of stunning noshing at the French Laundry, and the undivided personal attention of the entire staff of a Franco-Swiss restaurant (the old William Tell in Vancouver) for six hours of mind-numbing old-school degustation. One of the best experiences I've ever had was a very simple meal at the Cafe de Paris in Vancouver. We got caught in a rainstorm, and ducked inside hoping to get dinner. It was a dead quiet Wednesday night, and we were the only ones there, aside from the waiter and a stereotypically French looking guy in the corner, going over some papers and smoking.
When the waiter came to take our order, I told him I wanted the lamb, but nothing on the wine list caught my eye--could he offer a suggestion? He smiled and asked us to wait a moment. He went back and spoke to the man with the papers, who nodded, got up and left.
"The owner has a vineyard in the Côtes du Ventoux and has just returned from there. He says he will bring you a bottle of his own wine to try."
It was magic--a classic southern Rhone red of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, it went gorgeously with my perfectly cooked lamb rack. The rest of the meal flowed wonderfully to the backdrop of drumming rain and wonderfully simple but perfect French bistro food. Was it the best food I've ever had? Probably not, but I can't recall a meal I've enjoyed more, or that brings better memories.
How about you? What's your favorite food and wine meal of all time? If you tell me, you could win a Major Prize! In 150 words (or less) tell me about the most hedonistic meal you've ever experienced, and you could win a copy of The Hedonism Handbook, by Michael Flocker, a how-to guide to pleasure in the modern age.
The rules:
- 150 words or less about your most pleasurable food and wine experience
- Send it to tim@winexpert.com, with the subject line 'Hedonism Contest'.
- Our expert panel of judges (me) will pick the winning entry, which will win the book
- All entries become property of me, and I'll publish the winner here on the blog--family friendly, please!
- Contest closes October 15th
- No warranty implied or intended, no cash value, your mileage may vary, it was like that when I got here
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