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The consumption of food and the experience of pleasure are two intimately connected phenomena. Perhaps the most obvious relationship is that of feeling hungry and the satisfaction that is achieved when one takes that uncomfortable hungry feeling away.
That is, feeling hungry or having an appetite is a bodily sign to the brain that one needs to eat, which is part of our innate survival instinct. By eating (enough) food we do not only take our unpleasant hungry feeling away, but we also fulfill our wish to live, which both give us pleasurable feelings.
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In addition, the smell of food being cooked when one is hungry (of course, if one likes the specific dish being prepared) is a supplementary form of (preliminary) pleasure.
The way a dish is served likewise adds to the pleasure element. Meaning that when food is served in a visually pleasing way, the food already “tastes better.” Moreover, if the meal consumed actually tastes good, one’s pleasure is complete.
In fact, tasty food is such a pleasure that it’s even consumed when one isn’t hungry at all. It’s then simply eaten for the pleasure of the taste it has, constituting a moment of pure enjoyment.
Perhaps true or only a myth, but it’s thought that the ancient Romans would eat while lying down and vomit between courses, just to make room in the stomach and keep the pleasure of eating going on.
Eating exclusive food gives another kind of pleasure; the pleasure of being able to eat something that’s hard to get and/or is expensive in the place or country you live in, or perhaps hard to procure at all.
Sometimes, there’s also a kind of morbid pleasure connected to consuming food, which has to do with the risk of dying. For instance, mushrooms pose a risk due to the possibility of poisoning, which — for some people — make them more attractive. Another example is that of the Japanese fish called Fugu, which can cause sudden death if it’s not prepared in the right way.
Anyway, when food is eaten alone and in calm, it’s not only pleasurable because of the bodily and accompanied emotional need it satisfies, but also because it brings a moment of rest and relaxation between otherwise often hectic activities.
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Consuming food together with others — notably with friends or family — often includes a social function, which gives its own form of pleasure. It’s pleasure that’s not so much about the actual food that is being consumed, although good and tasty food would add to feelings of pleasure, but rather because of the element of bonding, community, and the affirmation of close relationships.
Enjoying food is often also an indispensable pleasure element accompanying special occasions and festivities such as weddings, commemorations, baptisms, funerals, or birthdays, and the like. Without abundant and tasty food being available at such occasions, it’s safe to say that most people wouldn’t enjoy the event.
In a more general sense, we can observe that the need for food is such a basic need that successful harvests have traditionally been celebrated lavishly. A good harvest guarantees the availability of food for a prolonged period, which gives — pleasure.
