In Defence of the Deep Fried

The idea of deep fried food seems to strike panic in the hearts of most. Most-misaligned, fried food seems to have become synonymous with heart disease, premature death, poverty, food deserts, modern capitalism with its fast food ethos. The rules of wellness wish for us an eternal January: no meat, no dairy, no junk food, no alcohol and definitely, definitely no deep frying of any kind.

The ultimate gluttony, fried food becomes a dangerous forbidden fruit we deny ourselves. Here, the Fried is local, atavistic, roots-deep in souls, earth, eaten in neighbourhoods and public squares. We are actively trying to bring it back from the childhood memories in which we ate with abandon. Without guilt. Sinless. Here, The Fried becomes once again sacred in its abundance.

Deep Fried Togetherness

We’ve been going through all sorts of epidemics. Literal epidemics, epidemics of loneliness, epidemics of obesity. In this context too, deep fried food gets a bad name.
Images of lonely sad people eating buckets of fried chicken from god knows where in front of a screen.

In fact, it’s the complete opposite: deep fried food – in its local, traditional sense – is a strong social binder, a connection between unlikely friends, capable of filling town squares and parks. It is a traditional symbol of unity. Nothing like fried, sweet, golden dough to bring a few thousand people together, capable of overlooking their differences for at least the length of a street food dinner.

The Deep Fried Sacred

oil is holy, so is food and the salvation that comes from it. the Deep Fried, dripping in oil, rich in nutrients, is the perfect symbol of the sacred – anointed by divinity, and capable of providing an earthly moment of divine pleasure.