“Food is our common ground, a universal experience”

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience” is a food saying that has been printed on many images. American chef and cookbook author James Beard (1903-1985) wrote the line in his book, Beard on Food (1974).
 
   
Wikipedia: James Beard
James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 21, 1985) was an American cook, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. Beard was a champion of American cuisine who taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. His legacy lives on in twenty books, other writings and his foundation’s annual James Beard awards in a number of culinary genres.
     
Google Books
Beard on Food:
The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom from the Dean of American Cooking

By James Beard
New York, NY: Bloomsbury
2007 (originally published in 1974)
Pg. XI:
Food is our common ground, a universal experience. My column has brought me floods of mail and a great sense of intimacy with all of you. Many of you have written about your own taste memories in a very nostalgic and touching way, or sent me your family recipes.
 
Google Books
he Encarta Book of Quotations
Edited by Bill Swainson
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
2000
Pg. 68:
Beard, James (1903-1985) U.S. chef and author
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
Beard on food (1974)
     
Google Books
Food and Drink:
A Book of Quotations

Edited by Susan L. Rattiner
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
2002
Pg. 37
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
JAMES BEARD
 
Google Books
The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations
Selected and annotated by Hugh Rawson and Margaret Miner
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2006
Pg. 262:
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
—James Beard, Beard on Food, 1974
 
Bustle
14 Food Quotes You Will Most Definitely Relate To
By CHELSEY GRASSO Oct 16 2016
(...)
9. “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” — James Beard
 
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2:01 PM - 13 Jun 2017