Cooking to cook, not to eat
The other day, I had a conversation with a friend about improving his cooking to eat better and save money.
He said, “I wish there were a way to have good food without effort.” I replied, “Impossible. Time and effort are what make food delicious.”
The next day while cooking, the conversation was percolating in my mind when it dawned on me; (at my best) I cook to cook, not to eat. I am putting the effort into cooking, and that is what makes good-tasting food. When I am present with cooking, the food turns out the best, I improve recipes and techniques, and I most enjoy the art of cooking. When I’ve found myself cooking to eat, I am rushing, sloppy, not focused on the present: and it results in less enjoyable food.
What’s more profound is that when I cook to cook, I fall deeper in love with cooking, making me want to do it all over again. I am grateful for the ingredients I am able to use. I am in awe of the fact that cooking is simply chemistry that makes our senses happy. I feel challenged to learn more and push my creativity in the kitchen and in other areas of life.
When I cook to cook, not to eat, cooking and eating are both the most pleasurable experiences they can be.
I studied English as an undergraduate student, so it’s a given that I love metaphors. Cooking to cook, not to eat, is a metaphor for slowness, mindfulness, and appreciation of the process.
We in the West live in a fast-paced, results-driven world. The processes we go through are too often a means to an end. We rush through every day looking toward the future, not living in the present, and in so doing, never catching up to the future. We dilute our experiences by not appreciating them for what they are, focused on what they may bring.
So, readers, I invite you to not only cook to cook, and not to eat but to also: travel to travel, create to create, learn to learn, write to write, love to love, and live for the journey, not the destination.
Whatever it is you do, consider doing it for the purpose of doing it.
“Enjoy cooking.” — Chef Motokichi
Hi there, my name is Christ. I am a Millenial/Gen Z cusp, UX/Visual Designer, Writer, Pseudo-Luddite, just trying to live my best life.
Don’t get it right, get it written. — James Thurber
