Inspired by TikTok, I went on a picnic with homemade food

March 21, 2021 — by Kavita Sundaram

The food was good and the ambiance was even better.

After seeing hundreds of aesthetic TikTok videos where people venture to the beach or any gorgeous destination with friends, consume bougie foods and drinks and jam to Harry Styles, I was enraged. Not by the Harry Styles, but by the way they ate cake. 

Eating cake with wine glasses. As a self-proclaimed food connoisseur, I must point out all the flaws in this trend. Overly large servings, cake crumbs all over the place, dirty glasses smeared with frosting and a misshapen cake left looking extremely unappealing. Cute in a video, but a guaranteed failure in reality. 

I sought to try it out myself, just to prove how awful it was. 

My plan was simple: I made a cute cake, as well as some more food, and planned a picnic with a friend. The cake was chocolatey, decadent and complete with decorations, frosting and all. It was the highlight of the show. But disaster struck before I could even get to the picnic. 

Unbeknownst to me, my family decided to help themselves to my cake, taking not one slice, not two — but the entire cake. I was left empty-handed and unprepared. 

In retrospect, this might have been a blessing in disguise — I was saved from having to eat cake with a wine glass. 

With no trendy cake, I decided to make some more different trendy foods. I spent about an hour carefully assembling a charcuterie board (with homemade butter), only to realize I had to transport it and painstakingly took it apart once more. 

After persevering these challenges, however, I reformed my board at the picnic. The end-product was a beautiful board with assorted fruits, breads and nuts. Still, it tragically lacked the most essential aspect of a charcuterie board: cheese. I had unwittingly made an extra trip to the grocery store, only to forget to buy one of the most crucial ingredients.    

I also brought along some iced coffee, homemade coffee granola and a yogurt bowl. The collection made for a vibrant spread on a picnic blanket. Very Pinterest-y — I know. 

Overall, the experience was great. Although I had a few mishaps, the simplicity of eating food outdoors was an exquisite break from the mundanity of quarantine. And setting out with the intention of creating anon-trend experience definitely made me feel way cooler than I actually am. 

Making the food was fun, eating the food was even better and not having to eat cake with a wine glass might have been the best part.  

 

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