One of my favorite types of creativity is cooking. Every cook, whether home chef or culinary master, has their own unique ability to create something worth tasting. Some even have specialties, such as bakers, while others try their hands at a little bit of everything. My own cooking style has been influenced by so many people it would be hard to name them all, but I think there are 3 people definitely worth mentioning.
The first person who really let me in the kitchen was my mom. When I was little, I remember “helping” her bake everything from zucchini muffins to double chocolate chip cookies. I have pictures of her letting my sister Hannah and I stir the cookie dough, which still makes my heart happy. Now, the most important piece of information that I learned from Mom was that you did not EVER follow the printed recipe all the way through. At some point in the process, it was always necessary to improvise, which of course is how you made the recipe better. However, it also meant that afterwards, when the cooking, eating, and cleaning had already been completed, you probably couldn’t remember exactly how you changed the recipe, so you would just settle for improvising next time as well. In my cooking and baking now as an adult, some of my best creations have been completely improvised, and while I love this skill, I still struggle to remember to write down what I did.
The second person who influenced my cooking style would probably be my dad. His style is what I would call the “All or Nothing” because he either follows the directions exactly, or he just looks at what he has and then starts creating something based off an idea in his head. I don’t know how to make his pancakes and waffles because I don’t know if he has ever made the recipe the same way twice. He simply walks into the kitchen, and literally will start muttering under his breath, “Alright, a little bit of this,….*measures out some ingredient carefully*… and a little of that…*dumps an unidentifiable amount of another ingredient into the same bowl*.” While this is extremely entertaining to watch and usually ends up with some pretty tasty creations, it will always be a mystery what exactly goes into all of Dad’s recipes. By following Dad’s example, there are times when I feel completely confident in putting ingredients together to create something in my head, but also, there are times when I feel like I want to just follow the recipe for a favorite tried and true treat.
The third and last person who has really impacted my cooking style would be my friend Dani. Growing up, my family was pretty simple and easy to please when it came to food. When I met Dani and her husband Gary, they changed how I saw food and ended up fueling a love of cooking that I didn’t realize I had until then. Their cuisine would vary quite a bit, but most often it resulted in a dish that required seconds, or thirds, because it was too good not to eat more. While my parents gave me my style of cooking, it seems that Gary and Dani gave me my taste in food. Even now, I still use a lot of the recipes they gave me and ask their advice on new recipes I want to try.
Overall, my cooking style has been developing and changing my whole life, and it probably will continue to do so. I love to cook and try new recipes, but honestly, my favorite part about cooking is sharing the food with others. Food is something that brings people together, whether you make it together or taste it together. Cooking is a taste of creativity that I love, and as time goes on, I will try to share with you some of my favorite recipes, whether from family and friends or found elsewhere, and hope that you enjoy creating the recipes as much as I do.
Keep creating!
-Chelsey
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