borrowedphrases:

First I want to say that I’m not trying to talk over nor silence anyone who has issues with Hunk’s enjoyment of food in Voltron. Your feelings are always valid. However, I do want to offer another perspective on the matter that I don’t think many of you have the experience of understanding through living.

Because I don’t think many of you are or know trained chefs.

We have been shown in both seasons that, besides being an incredibly gifted engineer, Hunk is also an accomplished cook, if not a trained chef (I lean toward the later with him, because he resonates SO much with me on the topic of food – yes there IS a distinct difference between the way a Foodie and a Culinarian talk about and interact with food!)

The thing about chefs is… we talk about food, we think about food, we make food analogies, we explain things using food as an example, we compare other things to food. I’m currently the sales manager and accountant (among other things) for my family’s seamster business. I compare literally every aspect of our business to food and restaurant management, to the point where I think I’m driving my partners insane sometimes.

Pricing our products? Gotta balance that menu! That scarf that has very low material cost and sells like crazy is like our chicken dish, so we can keep the cost of our high-end “salmon and lamb” plushes competitive! Extremely complex custom orders? Those are our wedding cakes and big catering jobs!

Want to win my heart? Cook me a nice meal. Want to give me the best gift ever? Take me to that fancy restaurant I’ve been eyeing. Want to make me feel creative and blessed? Get me an ingredient that I haven’t cooked with before or don’t get to cook with often. Mom gifted me a gram of saffron one Christmas and I nearly burst into tears I was so touched.

When I first watched the scene in S2 where they’re all standing around thinking about Zarkon and Hunk says he was thinking about calzones I nearly lost my shit because that was me right there on the screen. My husband and fiancee both groaned fondly and face palmed because yes, they know, I’m always thinking about food!

I have other skills. I primarily consider myself a writer, as Hunk would primarily be considered an engineer, and writing does have influence over my life and my conversations, just has Hunk did demonstrate his engineering skills in S2. But there is something about also being a chef that keeps food coming up in conversation.

Yes, Hunk is a big guy (just a side note, the reason he’s the strongest member of the team is because he has the caloric reserves to burn that Shiro doesn’t), a lot of chefs are also big guys (and gals, and enbies!). Loving food and being large is perfectly wonderful and beautiful. Being a chef and constantly talking about food is modus operandi and I was truly delighted to see his character unfold in a way that resonated with me so very much.

To quote Eliot Spencer: “Food is Life.”