An Act of Kindness

It was January 2011 and I was sat around a dining table in New Delhi, half way through a 3 month work experience trip and thousands of miles from my immediate family.

I was laughing and enjoying the company of my newly found relatives who had welcomed me into their home like their own. My uncle casually asked me what my favourite food was and as always my answer was “well I love food too much to restrict myself to just one favourite”. He laughed in agreement and said “ok..but what food really puts a smile on your face?”

I thought about it a while and remembered when I’d been a student living away from home and missing it; a tub of chocolate ice cream usually did the trick! So I mentioned the chocolate ice cream, my uncle made a quick call and we continued our meal and conversation.

Ten minutes later a tub of the most delicious and rich chocolate ice cream appeared in front of me! This casual chat had turned into a wonderful, kind and thoughtful gesture, which I was truly touched by. Needless to say we shared the ice cream out but I don’t think I’ll ever have such fond memories of chocolate ice cream as I did in this moment.

Food is more than just a necessity in life. It can be an act of kindness, a gesture of care, a bridge across cultures or even a peace offering. It can create such wonderful memories and the seemingly simple gesture of food can mean so much more to someone else.

Do you have any food memories that blew you away with the kindness behind them?