Food

Food has always been a big part of my life. I personally find culture to be absolutely fascinating, and my interest in food began as a study of culture. The ability to taste the stories and struggles of a people through a dish is absolutely fascinating to me. I think food provides, like many other arts, an amazing ability to connect with the rest of the world. Sharing stories can be difficult in most forms due to language barriers, but food is a language we can all understand.

I’ve also loved to see how differently various cultures approach food. I grew up in an Indian household, and food has always been a big part of how I feel connected to culture. India is not homogeneous in culture in any way whatsoever, and this is immediately evident in the food. Both the daily and special foods of various regions differ immensely. Also, something I’ve loved discovering is all the little microcosms of culture that exist. The specific region, the way that my ancestors lived, and even individual people’s stories shaped the recipes passed down through my family that I ate every day growing up. One of my favorite parts of Indian food culture was that it sought to make cooking an experience. Cooking is an expression of you, and so every single person’s dishes will taste very different, and there is a beauty in that. There is a beauty in finding a dish that reminds you of home because of the exact details of how that cook prepares it as well.

After growing up with this, I found myself drawn to the food cultures of France and Japan. There’s a precision with which cooking is approached in those cultures that seemed appealing to me. I really enjoyed the process of learning foundational techniques, which allowed me to be more intentional with how my food came out. I loved learning the science behind how something as simple as the way you prepare your garlic affects the final flavor of your plating. I loved drilling in the knife skills, the foundational techniques, and the incredible attention to detail these cuisines bring. I am by no means anywhere near an expert in them, but I very much enjoy this method of learning.

I think since coming to college, my overall enjoyment of cooking drastically increased and then reduced again. I understood what my parents would mean when they would mention how having to cook to feed yourself slowly drains the desire to cook out of you. One system I recently instituted, which I believe has significantly improved my overall happiness, was making it a habit once every so often to cook purely for pleasure and not for sustenance. There’s something deeply enjoyable about designing a multi-course menu, considering the interplay between the various items you put on a plate, and the way that each course plays into the others. It’s become a habit that throughout the 2-week period, I slowly fill out the menu with my thoughts, slowly building my excitement until I finally prepare the full dish. I still believe that this is one of the most enjoyable experiences I know. As I look to my future, I want to ensure I continue to place importance on cooking for pleasure.

Gallery

A few snapshots from the kitchen — these are just two riffs on steak, not the whole picture.