JamieOliver.com

I am a great believer of family and friends eating together.  I grew up where we ate dinner at the table together as a family every night without TV (much to our horror when we were young).  I believe that it why we are such a strong family and Mum and Dad always had their finger on the pulse.  It was a chance to find out what each of us had been up to, what we had achieved, what we had stuffed up.  It was a table of conversation, laughs and sometimes tears but a very special memory and the opportunity for us to be together each day.  I really hope I can keep this tradition with my family.

My partner and I always sit down at the table for a meal after work. My other half is the better cook but I always try to muck in and help with the preparation and of course the clearing up!
No tv dinners here !

Jamie

You know your fab comment about eating together reminds me that Jesus ate with his Disciples - whether you are 'religious' or not most people think Jesus was at least a great teacher - he even cooked fish one morning for them by the side of the lake (sounds tasty!).

As many people have already so wonderfully written - eating together is extraordinarily significant - actually more than that - VITAL and unavoidable if we are to healthily 're-foster' family & therefore societies cohesion and well being!  The converse is also true - the breakdwon of family life and values - is typified symptomatically by lack of shared mealtimes... as is the diet people eat.

Much as I love 'gadgets' and eg. find a mobile useful - as you said ref wide-screen TV's - we live in an age where values and morals have been reduced to an appallingly poor state and we're focussing on the wrong things with too much 'bias' and not focussing on the right things with enough 'bias' - BALANCE and wisdom is what's missing. Eating around a table TOGETHER is a great and profoundly simple & fundamental place to start!  Further than that and more signicant really in my view is this: folks need a moral compass too - try the 10 Commandments for starters!

There really is no acceptable excuse to not eating together except trips away from the home (and these should be balanced and regulated ie. limited & monitored wherever feasible) And/or illness etc. preventing shared meals.  Other than that it's a choice about what really counts!  Education helps.

Eating a fresh tasty meal together at the end of the day is so important to us that we have trained ourselves to eat later. We live in the States so nights are full of soccer, swim team, band, choir etc. But we all sit down together even if it is 8:00. My husband and I can have a glass of wine and relax while we listen to everyone share about the day. Now that our children are older we have some great discussions. On the rare occasion when it is not possible because of a school evening activity we all feel so out of sorts. None of us can stand having to inhale our food and run off to somewhere. I truely enjoy making something healthful and delicious for my family. I think too many busy people think of cooking from scratch a waste of time. But for me that is how I show my family that I love them.

Hi Jamie,

You are right. When we came to Australia, we rented a flat for the first 7 years and during that time the only time we ate around a table was if we ate outside or brought the outside furniture into the lounge. Mostly, we ate on our laps in the lounge with the dreaded TV on. It was awful.

When we moved into our own home, the first thing we bought was a huge dining room suite and we have our meals there, together. It is simply wonderful. We talk, laugh, entertain and enjoy our meals in a leisurely manner. I think the food is digested better, you know. We don't answer phone calls during this time, as it has become family time and is precious to us. And guess what! The TV is off.