Mathew Mennella

Professor L. Westengard

November 10, 2015

                                                             Snails Saved My Life

The most memorable event I have, involving food, which was nearly life changing, occurred about 3 years ago in the middle of the ocean! I was on a cruise ship, taking a vacation with my family, when the ship offered my family a “complimentary” specialty restaurant. Being as there was so many different specialty restaurants ion board such as, exotic seafood, Italian specialties, and fine dining, we had a very big choice presented to us! However once my parents saw the option of French cuisine, they just could not turn it down. Every other restaurant we had the option of eating at was so normal, and anti-exciting for us since we eat at those types of places all the time. But the restaurant that would soon change my view on food forever, Le Bistro, called to us in a sweet and smooth voice.

   I walked into the French style bistro, already unimpressed due to the fact that i was the only child my age, and i had to wear this ridiculous monkey suit to even be allowed into the small establishment. When i sat down, rather than being handed a sheet of paper covered in puzzles and coloring options with a small selection of food (usually composed of chicken fingers and hamburgers); i was handed a long menu with only long words, that my uncultured tongue could barely pronounce. I looked over the menu almost confused as to what it was. I had never heard of the beautiful dishes such as Duck Confit, Coq Au Vin, and Filet D` Èspadon. When i had realized i wasn’t going to have the option to order French Fries, despite the so said theme of the restaurant, I closed my eyes and pointed at a random menu option. Escargot Bourguingonne. How bad could it be? It said garlic and butter sauce. I like garlic and butter! However i had no idea how this dish was going to change my life forever.

When the waiter arrived at my table with the small dish filled with small garlicky looking pods I had not expected to see anything like that when i saw the name on the menu. The fork the server had given me was very small with only 3 prongs on it. So I took the ridiculously small fork and stuck it into one of the pods. I then, without hesitating put the first escargot into my mouth. This flavor! This texture! It was so…. different! So abstract to my normal everyday foods! It tasted so delicious! I never wanted the dish to get empty! My mother looked at me with shock and disbelief. “How do you like your dinner Mathew?” “I love it,” I exclaimed in response taking another bite. “My father smirked and watched me enjoy this new favorite of mine. “Do you know what escargots are? They’re snails.” That made me hesitate. Snails? Could it be? Could these delicious little chewy pods of goodness be something so grotesque? I slowly took another bite then shrugged. Maybe grotesque can be good. Weird could be delicious!

  Browsing the menu reading descriptions and looking up words to translate the menu, made me fascinated. This wasn’t enough. I needed more. Not just snails, but experience. My palette needed to expand. No, I need to expand other peoples palettes as well! My own mission to expand the culinary taste of average everyday “Joes.” These tasty little creatures gave me a mission. A vendetta against normal, bland, everyday food. Other people need to know whats out there! And I need to show them! That how I became inspired to become a chef. Because I simply stepped out of my comfort zone. Now I have to create masterpieces. I have to make works of art for your taste buds. All thanks to a few snails. I had never thought that something so slimy could be so tasty, and thats what I was inspired to do for others. I suppose sometimes we have to be left without any other option to be pushed out of our comfort zone. However I think everybody should do it, an maybe they will discover their passion as well.