Early Men: The Art of Cooking

It was the third time the wild beast tried to attack them. It was surrounded on all sides by the early men sporting long beards and bodies covered with hair. Someone from the contemporary world would find it difficult to distinguish one man from the other or even the beast from the men. They coordinated with eye movements and addressed each other with sounds that only they could decipher. Their hands held a rock with a sharp pointed edge which was their only weapon. But their eyes were filled with confidence that would soon pave way to happiness. The beast turned to the left, right and very possible direction but it felt helpless being surrounded by the strong men on all sides. Being too fond of its own life, it attacked a few men with its claws and managed to run a few metres before they caught it and killed. The blood that oozed out quenched their thirst.

The work of dicing the animal into pieces small enough to fit into the mouth began. Their mouths watered and they tried to gulp down a piece of the meat but the leader wouldn’t allow. It was a custom to offer the meat at dusk to the almost spherical rock lying in the midst of the temporary settlement.

The dicing of the meat was completed and they waited eagerly for the sun to set. A few of them, for reasons known to themselves plucked some leaves and flowers from the nearby plans and placed them at random paces on the huge pile of meat. A chef from today’s world would definitely be amused by those ingenious ideas.

The dusk was setting in. Stones were rubbed against one another swiftly and the fire that resulted was used to light up the settlement. In the light of the fire, the meat appeared gorgeous tempting one of them to snatch a handful. But the stern look of the leader returned the piece of meat to its place. A few pieces of meat were placed near the spherical God and they started dining.

A piece of meat fell into the fire accidentally. Braving the heat, a man from among the group, picked it up and started eating. The enhanced taste of the meat surprised him and thus, was discovered the art of cooking.

The Gourmet Party

Theme: The discovery of cooking

Location: In the midst of a forest

Ambience: Fire lighting up a dark place

Delicacies: The beast’s blood and cooked meat

This post has been written for 'My Weekend Party with Gourmet Food' contest on IndiBlogger sponsored by Kitchens of India. Visit Kitchens of India here.