If we wanted to place food in front of the Imam we must first attend to its outward appearance. If it did not look beautiful, he would not eat even if it tasted very delicious. However, if it looked beautiful, he would say: “I will taste it first and if it’s delicious I will eat.”
It was for this reason that whenever we cooked something for the Imam we always tried to give it a beautiful outward appearance. The Imam had a unique refinement that on many occasions I would think that I must write them down. If I did that I would have been able to write a whole book about his refinements.
I will eat it if it is delicious: Fatimah Tabataba’i