What Does Your Fridge-Style Say About Your Lifestyle?

INSIGHTS

We at A.I.Labs often talk to our students about the choices they make (wittingly or not), what those choices reveal about their personalities, styles and tastes, and how those choices could express their ideals and aspirations more fully, authentically and joyfully.

Today we focus on one of the more mundane, but universal set of choices we all make: the contents and arrangements of our fridges. After all, isn’t your fridge-style a reflection of your lifestyle? Or, to quote one of our students, Sarah Mundo, “aesthetic sensitivity starts with your gut!”

We took a sneak-peek into the fridges of several different students, and here are some patterns we observed. Do you recognize yourself in any of them?

Some people prioritize convenience, while others prefer spontaneity. The first group tends to be extremely organized. They maintain shopping lists and rarely diverge from their core items. Their homes tend to be spotless, and calendars, tighty scheduled. The second group is more whimsical and adventurous — with their food choices as well as their lives. They either have empty fridges (indicating a predilection for dining out and varying their meals) OR their fridges are chockablock full of myriad food types and brands (maximizing their ability to satisfy their ever-changing moods).

Some people are driven to control and even eschew their primal desires. To them, food is sustenance – a medium to fortify their health and maintain their energy levels. Their fridges are used to stock basics (e.g., milk, lettuce, eggs). No need to accommodate cravings! Others savor food. They are more driven by their emotional urges than physical ease. This group views good food as good for the soul and for the spirit. Food is fun, even (or especially) if it’s unhealthy. In their fridges, indulgent items - like champagne, whipped cream and caviar - are proudly on display.

Some people are always prepared for breakfast (full of items like eggs, butter and juice), while others are more prone to late-night snacking (as evidenced by the tubs of ice cream in their freezers or bags of popcorn in their pantries).The latter may forego breakfast altogether, but would never pass on a pint of pilsner. In a nutshell, a battle between the caffeinated crew and their inebriated counterparts!

Here’s a Closer Look into the Fridges of a Few Tastemakers….

Karolos Michadilis is an Athens-based architect, food stylist and aspiring chef. He brings to mind the gap many of us feel between our self-image and our reality. Given his profession, you’d expect his fridge to be stocked with all the ingredients needed to make the most delicious dishes. Instead, he prioritizes the convenience of take-out food, which is “faster, cheaper and doesn’t require planning.” According to Karolos, after spending a whole day cooking for clients, “the last thing I want when I get home is to spend more hours in the kitchen.” Clearly, his demanding career prevails over his aesthetic ideals.

Tommaso Bilotta´s fridgestyle perfectly captures his Aesthetic Intelligence. He is extremely organized (he even has a dedicated wine fridge) and is neat as a pin. He follows a “less is more” approach, where every ingredient has been carefully selected for its quality and nutritious value (“Ume plum on the bottom shelf… highly recommended as it’s a natural ingredients to alkalize your body…grated ginger resting for 24h – morning drink on an empty stomach.”). His highly disciplined need-to-eat approach reveals his discriminating tastes and keen eye for luxury. As a professional yachtsman, his personal aesthetic clearly lends itself to his line of work.

Annabel Stork and Sarah Mundo share a lot in common when it comes to their fridges. Both contain a variety of non-dairy milks, cage-free eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits. Health and wellbeing are clearly priorities when these ladies go grocery shopping. Moreover, the items in their fridges are all arranged clearly and thoughtfully. In Sarah´s case, we also note her environmental consciousness, with her limited use of plastics.

As a student, Annabel can afford to be more meticulous than Sarah, who’s a new mom. (Sarah says she’s still exploring ways to meld her parenting duties with her other role as a prominent yoga instructor and nutritionist.) As with Karolos, we sense some tension between Sarah’s aesthetic ideals and her reality. But don’t despair; Aesthetic Intelligence, like most skills, is ever evolving. As life evolves, so do our aesthetic practices.

Alana Hutchings´ diverse display of multicultural foods and ample condiments shows a passion for homemade (vs. pre-prepared) meals. This relates to the experience of a woman who has explored many different careers, hobbies and cultures. Indeed, Alana is a former real estate agent, who now works as social worker and is studying gastronomy. Lastly, if you didn’t already guess from the oversized jar of Vegemite, yes mate, she’s an Aussie!

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What´s in your fridge? And what does it say about you and your own lifestyle? And, what, if anything, could you do to enhance your fridge? Would you add/discard/upgrade any items? Would you organize and present them any differently?

As William Shakespeare once said, “The fridge is a window to the soul.”