We create memories by sharing meals
The thing I enjoy doing my job with Nestle is the chance it offers me to share in the impact of food. Every year, across the globe food brings families together at the dinner table. Moments of memories of dining shared with family and friends are precious to all of us regardless of the location you reside in.
At Nestle we are convinced of the potential of our products to ignite these moments of happiness and connection. It can be grand such as large families gathered around the dining table to commemorate long-awaited events. However, it could be more spontaneous, such as my children sharing snack on the playground.
Nulifer Demirkol eating the dinner in her home with her loved ones
Food memories
As a kid in Istanbul I was a fan of winter time. I would go outdoors until my fingers were pink, and then when I got inside I’d drink Salep with my sisters and mom. Salep is a thick, hot milk drink that contains flour made out of wild orchid tubers and spices. I am still a fan of everything made with cinnamon. It added a cozy feel to our time spent together. Today I’ll take home Nestle Salep that I brought from trips to Turkey and during the winter months my kids will request for it once they return home and put down their backpacks. We’ll sit down with chestnuts and Salep, or hot chocolate while watching our favourite films. The cinnamon flavor reminds me of being inside with my pink fingers that were cold and cold.
Food is a powerful way to create lasting, strong memories. Taste and smell are processed by the brain’s areas that are connected to the amygdala as well as the hippocampus which means that they play a significant role in emotional processing and processing memory. The majority of the time, in our memories of food we also recall the food, the environment that we were in, the feelings we had at the moment, and even the people we were with… That’s the reason nostalgic memories are so powerful in our memories of food and memories: it’s not just all about the chocolate chip It’s about the connection with the experience of being nurtured and loved by our grandmother when we were when we were children.
Food as a symbol of cultural identity
In my position as a manager at Nestle I’m also aware of the role of food when it comes to celebrating diversity and encouraging inclusion. Over the past several years, during this World Day for Cultural Diversity We have invited workers to discuss their most loved recipes from their homes. The voices of our employees came together to create this picture of various families that have given us the privilege of having us at their table. Maggi noodles at night markets and baking with Abuelita on birthday celebrations with the family, cutting off the pieces of Cailler chocolate after a day of sledding, greeting guests with a cup of Nescafe and sharing with a cup of Milo when they play football and taking Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies out from the oven (while keeping some Beggin’ Strips to use as an extra treat for a friend!)
