I have just finished my very first cookbook and I feel really good about it! This project was very interesting for me because it was the first time I actually expressed my true love of food, people, and cooking for people. I am a chef and have worked as a chef for about 20 years. However, I have been cooking professionally and non-professionally for a little over 40 years. I guess in a way you could say it took about 40 years to produce this book.
I started cooking when I was about 6 years old and have always loved cooking and really enjoy cooking for other people. As I was writing the book I realized that the cooking for other people was one way I expressed my love for other people be it family, friend, or even strangers. I know it may sound corny but I get a real good feeling inside when I cook for others. When I am done preparing the meal and everybody has eaten and the table is filled with smiling face I get a feeling of great satisfaction. I guess it is my destiny, my path in life, my calling or whatever term you like.
While writing the book I discovered things about myself that I had not known before or was just too busy to recognize. It was a bit of a rebirth of my passion, I guess a reaffirmation of how much I love food and the love that is put into food when being prepared for others. I had forgotten that part of me. See the chef business can be very hard on a person both mentally and physically and after nearly 20 years I needed a break and left food to become a software engineer. Computers were another passion of mine, both my father and grandfather used computers in there different lines of work. Dad was a systems analyst and my grandfather was an engineer for NASA. They both also loved to cook and bake regularly. Is guess you could say it was inevitable that I ended up in tech when I needed a break from being a chef.
I lost my job in tech and have been unemployed for almost two years now and homeless for about a year. It has been during this time that I started cooking more to help pull my weight and do what I could to earn my keep as my wife and I bounced from house to house, staying with family, friends, and anyone that would give us shelter. It has been during this time that I had the rebirth I spoke of earlier. Even though my world had turned upside down, cooking for and feeding people brought back that feeling of satisfaction I had not experienced in a long time. It got the culinary juices flowing and the chef in me was back in town. Then after somebody had one of my meals said you should write a cookbook. I thought to myself why not, I am a chef and love food.
Well, with my current situation I thought comfort food would be a great topic for a book. Especially since I have been cooking a lot of comfort food lately given my situation. I started to write down all the different recipes I had in my head that were comfort foods for myself, my wife, family and friends. Recipes that I had cooked when some serious comfort or healing was needed. The end result was the book I just finished writing. It is a good book if I do say so myself and think people will like the recipes.
I will be sure to let everybody know when it is available.
Have a great day and cook from the Heart!
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