COOKING: THERAPY and ART
Stressed?Had a long day at work? Worried about a relationship? Concerned about your health? Feeling anxious about finances? Don’t know how to cook? What does all that culinary jargon mean anyway…I give up – just going to pop something in the microwave and be done with it.
For years, I would come home from work, feeling depressed, lost, unfulfilled. Immediately, I would take post in the kitchen. Sometimes I would just wash dishes. Other times, I would play around with different sauces or vinaigrettes. I toyed with spices and flavor combinations. I wrote recipes and tested them over and over until I found satisfaction in my own palate.
When guests would come over, I was not your typical “life of the party” to say the least. If you wanted to talk to me, you had to come into the kitchen. Cooking was and is my element – it is where I release all the attachments of the day; the past and the future; and truly find myself be-ing present in the moment. When I am cooking, I am not thinking about anything else. Nothing else matters.
As personal therapy, I started to heal this sense of lack and depression through cooking. Becoming a professional cook provided an invigorating challenge; an opportunity to take my hobby to the next level; and would eventually land me in some amazing restaurants working under extremely talented chefs.
The abundance I have today does not come from financial wealth, but rather from a sense of purpose and genuine love for what I do and who I am.
What started as a hobby grew into a skill, which ultimately transformed into a purpose-driven career and desire to serve others.
I feel that cooking is art. It is a chance to express your uniqueness; be creative; and experiment. It is therapeutic. Just the same, many find meditative qualities in singing, painting, walking, writing, etc.
Caramelized Shallot and Mushroom Toast Points
When I am working with food, the stresses of the world melt away and I become engrossed in the process. Transcendence of daily anxiety into the energy of love and compassion can be accomplished through any activity, so long as it is performed with consciousness.
Simply by emptying your mind and focusing on the moment, you immediately halt the banter that perpetuates the vicious cycle of stress and have taken a huge step in healing your life on so many levels. Stress manifests as physical dis-ease, creates emotional trauma and leaves our minds racing, confused and overwhelmed.
Cooking is just one of the many activities that we do which has the ability to heal. Becoming interested in cooking, learning about food and its applications, & taking a mindful approach to cooking triggers the often suppressed creative characteristics of your right brain.
Cooking calms me down, and yet at the same time, it energizes my imagination and stimulates inspiration.
Instead of focusing on whatever illusionary crises are at hand, I become conscious of only one thing…the food I am preparing. When I am truly involved in the process, cooking becomes a dance – a symphony of flavors – an experiment of combinations…all done in the NOW. For certainly, we cannot experience those feelings/sensations if we are “elsewhere.”
Cooking has helped build confidence, bring peace of mind, encourage healthier eating habits, and has made me more informed about what ingredients are available. The knowledge is astounding. There are things I never would have tried or attempted had I not taken cooking from just a necessity for survival – to a hobby/passion – and finally to a career.
When I cook, I am also invested in the people I am cooking for. Sometimes it is just me, but often I am cooking for many people and it is of utmost importance that they are provided a meal made with love and compassion. Believe it or not, but people can tell the difference between a meal made with care and attention and one made in haste and without compassion. Essentially, you are what you eat. And, the energy you put into the process is shown in the final product. Can you taste love? I think you can. I can hear love through music. I see love through art. And so surely, I believe you can taste love through food.
Everyday, I learn something new about a certain food. Everyday, someone or something inspires me to experiment with different flavors or try a new technique.
Because of cooking, I am stronger, more detail oriented, more confident, healthier, wiser, and more creative.
I created My Karma Kitchen to inspire a change in the current paradigm of thought that has placed cooking into categories such as “chores,” “skills I can’t do well, but have to,” unaffordable”, “overwhelming,” “not enough time.”
But, a shift has been taking place over the past few years that has brought the culinary world into the public arena as a respected career, a method of self – expression, and an activity used to bring together friends, family and community.
Clearly, the interest and passion is there. My goal is to unlock the natural and hidden talent for cooking that is held within every person.
I began cooking because it was therapeutic. Through cooking, I found peace, time for reflection, and a way to transcend negative or unwanted energies/thoughts into positive energy. It wasn’t necessary to cook elaborate meals. Clean & simple is often the best.
It is the art of creation, the practice of being in the moment, embracing consciousness. The immense joy I receive out of the whole cooking process – from selecting ingredients to tasting and seasoning throughout, to cleaning the kitchen provides complete and true satisfaction.
At the end of a shift in the kitchen or after cooking at home, I know that I have not only nourished my body, but also my mind through activity, and my soul through creation, spreading of love and positive energy.
I simply want to share and interact with others through the medium of food; and as well, use my skills and knowledge to help others become more confident and creative cooks.
An artist once said, “…Many have argued whether or not sound exists without me, but what is often overlooked in the midst of these debates is the true importance of the relationship between sound and those who perceive it.”
In a sense, cooking is the same. Can food and cooking really exist without me? Cooking from a therapeutic and artistic viewpoint is dependent on the relationship between the presence and intention of the individual AND the value they place on the food.
Cooking from the heart amplifies ingredients, meals with mindful action.
It is my responsibility as a conscious chef to allow what I cook to be more than just an answer to hunger; it is in and through my hands to give it meaning.
That's all for now. Happy cooking and creativity!
