Why Do You Cook?
Hi Friends! Today’s a short post that’s not a recipe, but a question for you—Why Do You Cook? Lots of us cook for many different reasons and I’d love to know your why.
I’ve been blogging about cooking for 15 years now over on ¡Hola! Jalapeño and as I start this new blogging journey here on Kate’s Best Recipes I wanted to share with you why I love cooking and what it means to me.
If these words ring true to you, please leave me a comment below and let me know: What does cooking mean to you?
Why I Cook
Making a delicious dish that brings happiness to people is something I’ve been doing since I was ten or eleven years old. It was always a talent that came very naturally to me and besides the fact that I love to eat, I also find great joy in figuring out how to make basic ingredients into the best version of themselves. Whether that be something simple like, cucumber salad or a labor of love like, chicken pot pie.
When I worked as a chef in restaurants, I loved the dance of the cooks on the line all making their part of the dish that would come together in mere minutes on the plate. Restaurant work is hard and grueling but I sometimes miss that combined effort in creating really good food on such a massive scale. It is the kind of cooking you can never do by yourself, it really is only possible with a talented team.
I also enjoy really small cooking too. On the rare occasion that I am cooking for just myself, that freedom to make exactly what I’m craving without having to think about anyone else’s needs or desires is such a treat.
But the kind of cooking I do now, on a daily basis is my favorite and that is, cooking for you! When I am creating a new recipe or styling a dish for a photograph I enter into a zone of happiness where everything else just falls away.
I am incredibly grateful to have been able to create new recipes, research, write, photograph and immerse myself completely into food and cooking for the past 15 years. This is only possible because all of you read what I write, cook my recipes, buy my cookbooks, and read my newsletters.
So I want to say a huge, thank you!
So Why Do You Cook?
Do you show love through food? Are you an experimental cook? Is it your therapy? Or is playing with new ingredients your way of exploring the world? I’d love to hear your why!
I just found your blog several months ago and am so glad I did! Thank you for sharing your recipes and cooking instructions. I cook because my husband and I love to eat delicious, fresh and flavorful foods. Cooking is generally calming for me unless I’m rushed or starting dinner late in the evening and then just want to get it over. I am very experimental with foods and am always trying different combinations and methods. I do like to serve luscious food to company and family but get too stressed out when having company so don’t entertain often. There’s always so much to learn with cooking and my free time, generally, is reading food blogs and of course trying new recipes. Thank you again!
Hi Gale, I agree with you 100%. Isn’t it lovely to be able to create and experiment? That’s why I love to cook too!