Why Dr. Graham Loves Ratatouille

Dr. Graham's love for food and nutrition can be summed up in 48 seconds (see below) and 1 word: Ratatouille.

No, not the actual dish - Though we certainly don't doubt he's a fan of any recipe which involves layers upon layers of wholesome vegetables.

But we're talking about the movie. Yes, as a matter of fact we are referencing the Disney Pixar tale of an unlikely culinary alliance between an ambitious rat named Remy and his human friend, a wannabe chef named Linguini. The two outcasts team up at a prestigious Parisian restaurant, narrowly avoiding one catastrophe after another until the climactic visit from the city's most ruthless, unimpressionable food critic, Anton Ego.

What happens next surprises everyone, Anton Ego especially. As soon as Remy and Linguini's ratatouille graces his lips, Ego is transported back to boyhood. His perpetually mean scowl lifts like a thick fog clouding a long-lost memory, and each of his senses is reintroduced to his mother's own ratatouille. 

Food possesses that unique capacity - it preserves cultural ties and mends losses. It is an intimate show of affection, of understanding, of creativity. Food is an expression of family and ancestry and it speaks in a language we all understand. Like with Anton Ego, food is powerful enough to unlock the caged hearts of the most heartless, to evoke joy in the most cynical.

If that's not healing, well, we don't know what is!