Lyra: I don’t understand.

Bon-Bon: Why that was so much better than anything I’ve ever made? Because good food doesn’t just happen. It can’t be replicated, imitated, or mass-produced. Good food comes from good ingredients, and good ingredients require the best, natural environments to grow. That means they have to ship those ingredients from those environments all over the world.

Bon-Bon: But those good ingredients can still be divided into grades, and then the best quality within those grades. When you order an expensive pasta, you might be getting that year’s best tomatoes, but only some of that year’s best grains. Without grading? Can you imagine a subpar ingredient in an otherwise exquisite dish?

Bon-Bon: And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, it’s all on a timetable. “The longer it takes to reach your plate the more it loses its luster.” That best tomato will probably not be in its best condition by the time you order it. That’s why good food isn’t… you can’t just hold it in your hooves. It’s chance. A series of conditions. A circumstance. An experience.

Bon-Bon: That’s why it’s such a big industry. Why so much money is spent to harvest, test, grade, purchase- sometimes auction. Ship as quickly as possible, store and prepare as quickly as possible. Of course there’s a profit to be made, but it’s as much a service to the world as any other art. It can change you. And just like the first time you ever hear a song, it will never be the same.

Lyra: Ah… Actually I meant I don’t understand why Jacques came home with us.

Jacques: I will be your waiter for this evening.

Lyra: That’s alright. You can go home, Jacques.
Jacques: Oh, of course! After such a fine meal you wish to be alone together!
Lyra: You know what? Nevermind. Please stay Jacques. I don’t want you to go anywhere.
Jacques: Mé… ménage à trois?
Lyra: Okay now you can leave for real.