To have the full flavor of a dish you are enjoying, assuming it has some, the most important part of eating is being slow with it. This seem to be straightforward, but hard to perform if you are extremely hungry, or simply you are used to eat fast.
In the modern world, what matters is speed; speed of your internet connection, your car, your queue proceeding, your break in your daily job… So eating fast is actually an advantage, as long as we need to eat 3 meals a day at least. But why does speed matter if you can’t enjoy your life? 
Slow Food, an organization promoting good, clean and fair food against fast food, has a similar philosophy.
Among the pleasures, one of the simplest and easiest to achieve is, eating. This also makes sense, considering that the nature of our body rewards us for eating. Finding and recognizing good food is a different topic. Now, we cover how to appreciate food, starting with a simple step, eating slowly. The health advantage of chewing your food longer isn’t part of our topic… But well since it is mentioned, here are some advantages: weight loss, less eating, healthier digestion… Check it yourself, don’t trust my word.
You might be already aware of these. If you eat slowly and appreciate food, you are a true gourmet panda and don’t need to read further. Go check something about truffle for instance.
If you tried and cannot stop eating fast, just finding your plate empty in 5 minutes (I have seen people eating faster), then there is a tip for you. Instead of using a regular fork, enjoy your food with a dessert fork; or spoon, for soup for instance. It will be annoying at first, but this will slow down your eating rhythm. After some time, when the food in your mouth doesn’t feel that little that it used to be, you can switch to a regular fork. Then it is just about recognizing your food and trying to feel the flavors in it. You won’t be eating fast again.
I know it works, because I’ve done it myself. You can even try eating with chopsticks. Well, if you aren’t good with using them already.
If you have a bad day, sweets might help to cheer you up a little…One of my favorite desserts is this wonderful tiramisu recipe, which works perfectly without egg. Instead it contains curd which gives it a fresh taste and fits nicely to the bitter coffee and cocoa taste.
GourmetPanda 