What does this phrase make you think of?

September 5, 2006 9:26 PM

What the Buddha Craves. What does this phrase mean to you or how does it make you feel or what does it make you think of?

I'm still trying to come up with a name for my catering company. I've tried numerous names (single words like Zest, Flavour, Crave, Exquisite, and many others, including my faves from this thread), but they're all taken by other companies so I can't register them or operate under the names.

I have to decide on a name by Friday due to my company being written up in a third-party brochure.

Today, the above phrase came to me. I like it because:

- it's different
- implies something really good
- it couldn't possibly be the name of another food related place here in Canada
- its initials are available as a TLD

However, I don't know if it'll make sense to people. What does it make you think of? Is it too much of a mouthful? General thoughts?

Also, is it insulting to Buddhists?

Without trying to trivialize Taṇhā, for those not in the know, craving is a big no-no in Buddhism.

posted by dobbs to writing & language (60 comments total)

Honestly? First thought: vaguely sexual. Could just be me.
posted by Hildago at 9:29 PM on September 5, 2006

Since the Buddha, almost by definition, craves nothing, it's a little annoying to me. (In the same vein as "We give 110%".) But then I'm a philosopher. I'd also be tempted to think you serve somewhat decadent vegetarian food.
posted by ontic at 9:31 PM on September 5, 2006

Most Americans don't know much about Buddhism, and I doubt they'd get the reference. I suspect our neighbors to the north wouldn't fare much better. As far as the whole blasphemy angle, you might be subject to negative reactions from non-Buddhists who think you're being offensive to Buddhists (if that makes sense). I don't know how a Buddhist would react.

All that said, I'm in a pessimistic mood at the moment, so take it with a grain of salt.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 9:34 PM on September 5, 2006

ontic, thanks. Indeed, I serve decadent vegan food.
posted by dobbs at 9:34 PM on September 5, 2006

I bet most people would think you served Asian food. Maybe switch out the B for something else?
posted by smackfu at 9:37 PM on September 5, 2006

>Since the Buddha, almost by definition, craves nothing, it's a little annoying to me.

That's exactly what I thought.

So is that the point of the name? That even the one person in history most associated with renunciation of desire would still want to eat your mini-quiches?

I think that's really rather tacky.

Tell you what -- how about you start a ham and bacon business called "Pork Even Mohammed Would Eat!" and see how that goes first?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 9:37 PM on September 5, 2006

Regardless of what Buddhism implies, my first thought was that you were shilling "inner peace."
posted by ktrey at 9:38 PM on September 5, 2006

Seems a little like Mercedes using Janis Joplin's "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" in a commercial.

Why don't you do something with "Decadent?" Decadent Vegan. Vegetarian Decadence. Etc.
posted by callmejay at 9:40 PM on September 5, 2006

Honestly, I think it's a little culturally insensitive. You probably wouldn't consider "What Jesus Eats" or "Muhammed's Favorite Halal Nibbles," so why this?
posted by chickletworks at 9:41 PM on September 5, 2006

Try "Inner Peas."
posted by kindall at 9:41 PM on September 5, 2006 [1 favorite]

I am not a Buddhist, but I would be uncomfortable with your idea. Seem to (without meaning to) sort of trivialize people's belief system.

How about (and this is just off the top of my head):

InspireDesire

I like it because it combines the creativity of catering and the joy of eating. I also like how it could read as "inspire desire" or "inspired desire," both of which kind of work.

Just an idea of the top of my head. I don't know anything about copyrights/trademarks/etc.

Good luck
posted by 4ster at 9:43 PM on September 5, 2006

Agreed -- IANAB, but I find it culturally insensitive.
posted by ottereroticist at 9:53 PM on September 5, 2006

I am a (really bad Zen) Buddhist, and I find I don't care one way or the other about the name.

On one side I suppose that means my detachment from desire is better than I thought! On the other, it didn't appeal to me when lots of other things do.
posted by Kickstart70 at 9:59 PM on September 5, 2006

If you're really producing something you can put your hand on your heart and call decadent vegan food, that's your unique selling point right there.

Come up with a new name that embodies that contradiction.

Something like, call me crazy, "decadent vegan food"?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 10:02 PM on September 5, 2006

I'd assume you were selling nothing.
posted by gnat at 10:03 PM on September 5, 2006

I dont like it. Sorry.

I like Kindal's idea though.
posted by gergtreble at 10:05 PM on September 5, 2006

If you meet the Buddha, feed the Buddha.

or just "Feed the Buddha".

or "One Hand Catering".

or "The First Noble Tooth".

or "Karmic Catering"

Tip your servers. I'll be here all night.

(For the record, I've never encountered an easily offendable Buddhist.)
posted by ontic at 10:06 PM on September 5, 2006

agree with ontic - it didn't annoy me though (i grew up in japan) but rather thought of craving something one really should not, a bad thing.
posted by grafholic at 10:22 PM on September 5, 2006

If you meet the Buddha on the road, grill him.
posted by padraigin at 10:22 PM on September 5, 2006

Do you anticipate marketing yourself mainly to the vegan/vegetarian market, or do you want to mainly market to upscale clients and only secondarily to vegs? If the first, it seems important to have a name that is recognizably vegetarian/vegan friendly. If the second, you might want a name that emphasizes the decadence or luxury aspect without emphasizing the veg aspect. I'm guessing it's the former.

Do you do organic/sustainable sourcing? That's something else you could mention in a name.

Since you're just starting out, you probably want a name that a vegetarian will pick out of a phone book. Some obviously veg-sounding names would be to combine elements like:
earth, sunshine, green (or other versions of the color green), mother nature, garden, leaf, eden, pure,... Combine these with catery elements.
Eg: Green Table; [Your name]'s Garden; Leaf and Loaf; Sweet Earth;...

I think the Buddha name does fit in here, but honestly I would not be attracted to the phrase "what the Buddha craves"... I would think it a bit flakey, along the same lines as ontic describes (but again, I'm a philosopher).

Above all, the name must be something you can envision your prospective clients:
a. picking out of a list of other catering companies
b. not being embarrassed to have stenciled on the truck outside their event
c.. recommending to friends or colleagues without embarrasment

I think your name passes these tests, though I also think it's possible to do better.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:25 PM on September 5, 2006

I was raised Buddhist.

The Buddha doesn't crave anything. So to have something named "What the Buddha Craves" means you're not familiar with a basic parable of Buddhism--the story of Gautama Buddha's realization that desire is the root of suffering is as fundamental as the story that Jesus paid for mankind's sins by dying on the cross. Or perhaps you think you have something even a person who has achieved enlightenment would crave. But, again, enlightened persons don't crave anything.

Buddhism is a major world religion. Many people study it and practice it in the hopes of making their lives better. As part of this they revere Buddhist stories and teachings by going to temples, participating in ritual observances, and by studying. They look to it for comfort in sickness, death, uncertainty, and joy. Gautama Buddha's enlightenment and subsequent life are the ideal of human behavior.

What you name your company is a reflection of you and your thoughts. Some Buddhists will be offended by this particular name and some will not. We're supposed to practice equanimity in any case.
posted by halonine at 10:29 PM on September 5, 2006

Nthing the...."B..b..but, the Buddha craves nothing!" comments. I'm not a Buddhist, either, but surely only the least practiced of Buddhists would be offended by it. Spaceman Spliff is right, in that you're more likely to have a problem with non-Buddhists percieving it as blasphemous (as far as I know, there is no Buddhist equivalent of blasphemy), than with Buddhists themselves.

I have to admit, though, I'd remember the name if I saw it.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:36 PM on September 5, 2006

D'oh. Hadn't seen previous thread.
So you're mainly about desserts, and you don't want to use your own name in the name of the company...

Maybe Sweet-Natured?
I can see why this is hard.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:42 PM on September 5, 2006

Oh, c'mon people! The Buddha wants a Zen hotdog! One with Everything!

Hey! How about a hamburger / beer / fried Twinkie emporium called What the Bubbha Craves?!
posted by SPrintF at 10:44 PM on September 5, 2006

Thanks all for your answers. I'll head back to the drawing board.

LobsterMitten, thanks for your lengthy answer. However, I'm specifically trying to avoid words like earth, planet, organic (though most of my stuff is), and even catering, vegan and vegetarian. My food is also raw, but I hate that word. It's ugly, as are most of the words above, imo. I mostly make desserts (well, I make other things but by far, that's what I'm getting called about). For the most part, identifying desserts as vegetarian is pretty useless (though it does make me think of those Jell-O plates that had a fish in 'em in the 70s). At the moment, I don't have concerns about blind calls from the phone book as the word of mouth so far is excellent and I'm banking on that continuing. Short-sighted, perhaps, but only time will tell.

I was trying to come up with a simple word that could be attached to food but didn't necessarily have to be. I thought ZEST was perfect, but the name's already taken by a restaurant outside of town. Pure is also good, but is already the name of a famous raw food restaurant in NYC, which doesn't restrict me legally but doesn't make me seem too creative. I also liked Exquisite, though found out it was taken as well.

Hell, I even considered using my phone number as my company name as I was getting sick of looking at words and letters.

Anyway, again, thanks to all for your answers.
posted by dobbs at 10:44 PM on September 5, 2006

Our Daily Rind
Root of the Matter
posted by Kickstart70 at 10:53 PM on September 5, 2006

Isn't it kinda like calling it "What Jesus Hates?"
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 11:07 PM on September 5, 2006

Err, that should probably be, "Who Jesus Hates?"
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 11:08 PM on September 5, 2006

Keep stabbing your finger at random spots in the dictionary until you hit a noun that sounds good. Or use the visual thesaurus (which got me through quite a few product-name brainstorming sessions in the old days).

I'm also glad you decided to ditch the name you thought of, for reasons people (most aptly halonine) upthread mentioned. I'd actually avoid doing business with a company with that name.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:47 PM on September 5, 2006

Yeah, except that it's kind of like asking "What's the sound of one hand clapping?" Which is supposedly very Zen stuff to be thinking about. So complaining about the inherent paradox seems kind of strange.

However, as a non-Buddhist I'll just chime in that I think the name is overly silly or tacky, and doesn't really appeal to me.
posted by knave at 11:52 PM on September 5, 2006

The raw-food restaurant in New York is called Pure Food and Wine. I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to it as just Pure (I know I'd be confused if you did), and so I think you're safe if you like that one.
posted by anjamu at 11:57 PM on September 5, 2006

How about just 'Green'? Dunno how well that goes with desserts, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:05 AM on September 6, 2006

Since the Buddha, almost by definition, craves nothing, it's a little annoying to me

This was my first thought too. That it didnt make sense since the Buddha craves nothing. Once I saw how it was meant as a marketing slogan, my second thought was that you were dissing what is actually a very wonderful notion (of non-craving/non-harm) with a crass commercial goal. ;)
posted by jak68 at 12:08 AM on September 6, 2006

I thought the name was amusingly cheeky. Maybe you can find something else that fits that description but is a little bit more acceptable to people.
posted by teleskiving at 12:20 AM on September 6, 2006

佛跳牆 might be relevant.
posted by juv3nal at 12:57 AM on September 6, 2006

Juv3nal's post is interesting; and in that case I too was amused. However, I think the difference is in the commercialism, for me anyway. Buddha used in a commercial slogan somehow seems more crass than when used in name of a 'traditional' recipe (if thats what it is). I suppose context is everything.
posted by jak68 at 1:06 AM on September 6, 2006

"One with everything", which SprintF alludes to above - would be a brilliant name for a catering company IMHO.
posted by rongorongo at 1:42 AM on September 6, 2006 [1 favorite]

If you want a one-word name, hit the thesaurus and the English-to-French dictionary for words like "natural", "pure", and "whole". Maybe "raw" even sounds pleasant in French.
posted by mmoncur at 1:44 AM on September 6, 2006

I'm in the same boat as people up above. I'm Buddhist, and while I'm not upset or anything about the name, it doesn't make a great deal of sense. Buddha got past craving and desire and achieved enlightenment; he didn't crave *anything*.

So, does that mean you're not selling anything at all? :)
posted by JoshTeeters at 5:24 AM on September 6, 2006

I can't believe you did't go with "Tart Attack!" :(
posted by blag at 5:28 AM on September 6, 2006

What about Koan. It's one four letter word like Pure or Zest, it's Buddhist in nature, and it evokes a paradox, such as tasty vegan cakes.


Although tasty vegan cakes isn't necessarily a paradox. In fact, I think I might make one tonight!
posted by cloeburner at 6:48 AM on September 6, 2006

I can't believe you didn't go with Exquisite. I really liked the work they did for you over there.
posted by pointilist at 7:02 AM on September 6, 2006

pointilist, it's taken already. There's an "Exquisite Food Prep" here in Ontario. I checked with the gov't registration service. Unfortunately, I didn't check first, but each attempt at a registration costs time and a trip to the office and puts me out of pocket. Beieve me, I was pissed.

juv3nal, thanks for the link. There's a middle eastern dish called "The Iman Fainted" (it's a stuffed eggplant dish). That and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall are exactly the spirit that I offered the name up in. Obvsiously, however, I gotta go with popular reaction and it's clear in this thread that it's sour so I'll avoid the name. (Though I think those suggesting it comparable to "Mohammad's Pork" are missing the pt.; but again, I appreciate the comments.)

I should point out that the Buddha aspect of my suggestion wasn't the focus of the name, but the ultimate craving part was.

blag, I'm trying to avoid a specific food in my company name. I love making tarts and am best known for those (if known for anything), but I also make cakes, cookies, soups, dips, etc. I can even make entrees when pressed.

stav, thanks for the link to that thesaurus. I've exhausted every digital and physical thesaurus I have already but will try that one.

If anyone knows non-english words that sum up what I'm trying to get at with Pure, Zest, Exquisite... I'd love to hear them.
posted by dobbs at 7:15 AM on September 6, 2006

I liked Karmic Catering. Or Karmic Cravings?

Oasis in the Dessert?
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:41 AM on September 6, 2006

Or just Oasis. It sounds fresh and pure and good, and the pun is like an in joke.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:42 AM on September 6, 2006

What does this phrase mean to you or how does it make you feel or what does it make you think of?

'What The Buddha Craves' is a great name for a MySpace Emo band.

They could cover 'Karma Chameleon.' Transcendent!
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:02 AM on September 6, 2006

So just me with the sex. Fair enough.
posted by Hildago at 8:57 AM on September 6, 2006

How 'bout calling it "Veganique"?
posted by Radio7 at 8:58 AM on September 6, 2006

What do y'all think of the name Gather? I like that it sums up what I do (since I don't, technically, 'cook' anything--I gather, blend/mix/combine) as well as the idea of people getting together to socialize and eat.

Thoughts?
posted by dobbs at 9:14 AM on September 6, 2006

"Gather" - its okay, but honestly, there seem to be much cleverer name suggestions above, no?
"Gather" may capture the dual-concept you're going for (food/people), but it isnt a 'pretty' word. First off it sounds like work, reminds me of working in the fields, hunching over to pick things up, and generally exhausting myself. Again with this one my first reaction is "why?", and "Gather what?".
posted by jak68 at 9:32 AM on September 6, 2006

What do y'all think of the name Gather?

Along those lines, how about the name 'Graze?'
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 9:52 AM on September 6, 2006

Here's the perfect name for a Vegan Dessert Business: Natural Decadence.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 10:00 AM on September 6, 2006

Decadent Desserts
Your Just Desserts
Just Desserts
DelishDesserts
DelishDelights
Decadent Delights
posted by deborah at 11:28 AM on September 6, 2006

Treats from the Vine?
Delights from the Vine?
Desserts on the Vine?
Natura Catering?
From the Garden?
Terrace Treats?
Terrace Bistro?
Grown on the Vine - Upscale Vegan Catering
Nature's Provisions - Vegan Catering
posted by Lizc at 2:31 PM on September 6, 2006

I really like Koan.
posted by ontic at 3:43 PM on September 6, 2006

Ice cream koan?
posted by sagwalla at 4:18 PM on September 6, 2006

No, of course... I scream koan!
posted by sagwalla at 4:19 PM on September 6, 2006

Ok, a few more tries. You seem to like allusive single word names more than literal and informative compounds.

Gather would be ok, though it doesn't grab me the way it seems to grab you. I think with just "Gather", some people will assume it's your last name and pronounce it Gay-thur. Gather Round? Gathering?

Here are just some words, on the off chance that one grabs you (with or w/o the phrase "fine vegan desserts" or whatever):
Satisfaction
Contentment
Belly-full
Breathe
Embrace
Mix It Up
Lasso
Tangle
Cherish
Harvest
Season
Equinox
Solstice
Jumble
Watermelon
Parasol
Velvet
Lucky Duck
Dee-lish
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:33 PM on September 6, 2006

I'm specifically trying to avoid words like earth, planet, organic (though most of my stuff is), and even catering, vegan and vegetarian. My food is also raw, but I hate that word. It's ugly, as are most of the words above, imo.

I don't understand why you'd want something as fundamental as the name to disguise the fundamentals of your business (catering company providing raw, earthy mainly organic, vegetarian dishes).

I'd go with something like: Rawk Star Catering or even just Rawk Star. But that's just me.
posted by necessitas at 5:48 PM on September 6, 2006

How about "Aristology"?

I just learned this word today, and it means "the art and science of dining".

It sounds nice, and maybe you could use the definition as your tagline or something.
posted by exceptinsects at 7:02 PM on September 6, 2006