The table was set

One of the industries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide is the gastronomic industry. The director Andy Pereyra, led by chef Mikel Alonso and under the production of Leonardo Senderos, has just released the documentary “The table was set” to give testimony of how the pandemic was experienced in the gastronomic industry, based on the voices from different industry players.

Chefs, gastronomy students, journalists and restaurant businessmen relate in their testimonies about how this crisis transformed and revolutionized the industry in general. It is a reality that the economic spillover generated by the gastronomic industry in Mexico is one of the most important. But beyond thinking about how the industry was affected economically, the common thread of the documentary puts human overtones in the way of facing losses.

Thinking about the restaurant industry in Mexico is often associated with a privileged market that can access to eat in some of the best dining rooms in Mexico. However, the documentary highlights how, in addition to the economic effects, a whole chain of producers and distributors who work hand in hand with restaurateurs was affected. The jobs generated by the industry are also of utmost importance for the time the country lived before the pandemic.

The documentary was made at the height of the pandemic in Mexico, and manages to transcend the testimonies to feel close. Many of the testimonies of chefs and journalists had to be done remotely – which will be essential to understand the pandemic in a few years. Paradoxically, although the physical distance is present, the brutally honest testimonies of chefs like Jonatan Gómez Luna or Alejandro Ruiz (surprising testimonies and without anticipating anything, it is worth listening to), bring us closer to more human issues to reflect beyond the factor economic, delving into the way in which people make different options of thinking models to face crises.

And yet, despite all these effects, the documentary does not stop putting its finger on the sore of situations that must change, not only in the industry, but in society in general: to have more just and sustainable ways of producing , have greater inclusion of women both in job opportunities and in their importance in the development of the countries. The documentary also shows how young gastronomy students were suddenly faced with an uncertain future in a profession where practice is essential. Social inequality at all levels and the way in which the pandemic exacerbated these problems, urge us to think about how we can change the ways in which we have been doing things in order to live in a more just world for all.

Even in a pandemic, we still wonder what life will be like once the pandemic ends: Will we learn something from the crisis or will we make the same mistakes? The documentary then functions as a historical testimony and as a reminder of what people tend to forget, as a defense mechanism or simply because present situations absorb us to be able to think about what we have experienced and in due course, rethink the direction of how we want to live. The documentary is available to access through the Rojofilms YouTube channel.

Twitter @lilianamtzlomel

Food and society columnist

POINT AND HOW

Food and society columnist. Gastronaut, observant and foodie. She is a researcher in the sociology of food, and a nutritionist. She is president and founder of Funalid: Foundation for Food and Development.