Eating is not when my mood changes, it happens far before then. Eating is just the cathartic release of emotions experienced throughout the cooking process. The cooking process is where the power of food begins transforming my mood. Excitement, jitters, and joy are just some of the feelings running through me throughout the process. All of these emotions begin as a little fire, lit the moment I decide what to cook. Whether I’m following a recipe, paving my own way, or cooking eggs morning after morning; I can’t get enough of that fire!
I envy real chefs who get to swim in these emotions every day. I don’t envy their struggles and don’t consider myself amongst them in any way. However, the one thing I feel we share is that fire that grows from a tiny flame when the cooking process starts, to a smoldering blaze once the process is at it’s peak, and then a raging fire just before catharsis hits and the meal is eaten.
The color, the taste, and the feel of food act as spies into what the cook went through to feed us. The meal opens a window into the cook’s metamorphosis. The cook’s change in mood that started with a simple decision – a decision to cook and transform something from its natural state into something greater, a meal that in turn will change your mood.
This transformation is why I fell into cooking. It wasn’t the smiles on those who ate my food, but because the mere thought of cooking changes my mood. Cooking elevates my thought and challenges me to become better and better, but never truly reaching what it is I am trying to achieve. As I keep attempting the perfect scrambled egg, burger, biscuit, or whatever it may be, the cooking process is never the same and perfection is never attained. However, one thing I can rely on is that the cooking process changes my mood every time.
Cooking transforms me into a more thoughtful, more caring, more daring, and happier me. Cooking is my nirvana and I am led there by the meat, vegetables, fruit, cream, and all other heavenly ingredients left here for us to explore.
