Cheesecake on a Stick

Creativity in Food: Cheesecake on a Stick

The past week while at an unfamiliar restaurant, I once again braved the interestingly unusual. After finishing a more than satisfying meal, I was offered dessert. Initially my response was “no thank you” even though I was thinking “how could you even ask that, I just ate the biggest bacon egg and cheese burger I had ever seen after rescuing it from a sea of fries, I am about to be sick and the last thing that I would possibly want to have cross my mind is more food.” Moments later while peeking at the menu I noticed something that caught my attention. Cheesecake on a stick. The idea of a food so often thought of as elegant being served in such a childish manner intrigued me. Of course I succumbed to my curiosity and peer pressure of the host and ordered it.

As a fan of creativity, I believe that food is better served in unique and thoughtful ways.

For businesses in the food industry this is the best way bring interest to your customers. Even though I was beyond stuffed, I still ordered the cheesecake on a stick, not because I was hungry, but because of its entertainment value. Lets face it, creative food is fun. Not only that, but now I am heavily inclined to share this food with others. From edible utensils to gourmet corn dogs, anything is possible and luckily for restaurants owners we want anything

The idea of creative food isn’t just helpful for business, it can and should be used on the family and friends level as well. One example is from my grandma. My grandma has been babysitting since my mom was a baby. Over the years she has learned and taught herself the art of serving food to children (which I do plan to blog about another time). A big part of serving food to children is creativity. I will not go too deeply into this right now but I will say that on holidays my grandma will take pancakes and mix them with food coloring. She will use red for Valentines day, green for St. Patrick’s day etc. She then cuts the pancakes into different shapes such as hearts and clovers. The children love this and enjoy these meals far more. It can also be used in a family without small children using anything you can imagine. My uncle once mentioned putting a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey and then covering it with bacon. Hey, whatever floats your boat, but at least it is creative and unique.

As I have mentioned, mealtime is not just about survival and preventing your starvation. It is more so, especially in our society, about entertainment. Go ahead and put sticks up your cheesecakes, serve color coordinated food and cover your chicken duck turkey in bacon. The appeal of a food doesn’t technically make it taste any better but it increases entertainment value and therefore increases the fun. Mealtimes bring families together. Creative and entertaining meals bring families together in a positive and uplifting mood that encourages growth in one another’s relationships.

P.S. photo temporary, I am awaiting the arrival of the actual picture