Be Had By the Best
This illustration is part of my Collective Food Wisdom series, for which I asked people across different languages and cultures to share a nugget of food wisdom or advice they’ve received that they continue to carry with them in their kitchen, garden, or life.
This tip comes from Molly, a dear member of the Heirloom Food community whom I had the pleasure of meeting on a cross-country road trip in 2017.
What is the most useful piece of food wisdom or advice you have ever received?
Molly: If you're going to be had, be had by the best.
Who gave it to you?
Molly: While working as a housekeeper for a wealthy American couple after college in Paris, France, I was always on a budget and skimping regularly on food, despite finding myself living in one of the true culinary capitals of the world. I would purchase really cheap, large bags of dry crunchy biscuit cookies from the local supermarket and find myself bingeing on them late at night in my 6th-floor chambre de bonne (maid's quarters), which looked like something out of a Dickens novel.
One day I came home from running errands to find a delectable box of fancy, expensive chocolates sitting on the kitchen table. Next to the box was a note from my boss, which read: "If you're going to be had, be had by the best." She'd obviously seen the dismal bulk biscuit bag at some point and thought I wasn't treating myself to the finery Paris had to offer at every corner.
This was my first lesson in splurging and recognizing the value of good food...the "less is more" concept...as well as honoring that fact that I was worth it from time to time. A small bite of something truly delectable was more enjoyable than plowing unconsciously through a huge sack of mediocrity, and surely I could afford to indulge on occasion. At one point in my Paris stay, I was so emboldened as to stop off one morning after being out all night at a club to purchase oozing farm-fresh cheese and a piping hot baguette for my breakfast. What a delight!
How does it show up in your life?
Molly: This still sticks with me today, as my husband and I are budget-conscious and very frugal. Like many people now, we prefer experiential things over materialistic ones, and see the value in enjoying one really nice item vs. amassing as much as we can.
Thanks to my former boss in Paris, I now can proudly spend that extra $1.00/pound to upgrade from double to triple cream brie at Trader Joe's, making the experience all the more sweeter.
And to make this advice even more special, Molly sent me a picture of the note, which she recently discovered in the midst of a move—a small piece of paper so special that she saved it for decades.
To sink your teeth into more Collective Food Wisdom, and perhaps even hang a reminder of it in your own kitchen, head on over to my shop. Sometimes I sell the originals, too, so make sure you're signed up for my monthly inspiration email to be notified next time they go on sale, and you can snag your favorite.