The Magic Of Cooking

"Food brings people together on many different levels. It's the nourishment of the soul and body; it's truly love." – Giada De Laurentiis.

Is the quote above true? Obviously yes. Cooking is love, cooking is a way to demonstrate and share that love with our loved ones on every occasion we have, as well as those meetings that are better around a table full of our favorite meals accompanied by a good conversation. If I have to talk from my own experiences, this point is true because due to the pandemic, because my friends and I couldn’t see each other for almost 2 years, and can you guess what was the first thing we did when we finally saw each other? Obviously, it was going to eat at a restaurant together. Cooking is all that and more, it helps us to have good memories, reconnect with people, and meet new ones, but the most important is that cooking is essential to create new experiences. So in this essay, I'm going to tell you some of my favorite meals since always; then, I'll explain to you why cooking is considered an art; and finally, I’ll tell you why gastronomy and food are so important for all cultures in the world.

Since we were children, we all have our favorite foods, those that we loved and that put a smile on our faces when we ate them. Of course, for me, that was not an exception. I have had a lot of favorite meals for as long as I can remember, but right now I could tell you my three favorites are: salads, hamburgers, and pasta. All these foods are my favorites because they remind me of special moments in my life, when they comforted me or helped me have a good time. But finding my favorites was not an easy task, and it took me a lot of effort, trying here and trying there, many times with not so good results though, but I can remember well the moment when I started to like them; the first time I tried vegetables in my life was in a salad and since then I love them; or when I ate my first hamburger after passing all my classes in elementary school; or when little by little I tried more adult foods and got to know pasta. All these meals have made me live positive experiences, and that's why I love them.

Cooking is considered an art, that is a fact, and one of the principal reasons why is the level of creativity involved. Chefs are constantly experimenting with new combinations of ingredients, cooking techniques, and presentation styles, giving their creations their essence and personal touch in each dish because one will never be the same as another even if it is the same recipe. For that reason, cooking is more than an activity that is done every day out of necessity. It is the ability to create dishes and recipes from scratch with the purpose of reaching your heart. It is one of the many ways that exist to express oneself, through the senses: sight, smell, touch, and taste. Furthermore, it is quite an experience from the moment the chef prepares the food in the kitchen until it arrives at the diner's table.

There is nothing that joins a country and its people more than its gastronomy because this is what represents and distinguishes them in front of the world. Food is a fundamental part of the culture of each country because when we mentioned a fairly famous dish we can immediately know which country it belongs to and vice versa. For example, Italy? The first thing that comes to mind is pizza; Japan? Sushi, and of course, Mexico? Tacos are the right answer, just like in our own country when we're talking about "tamales," "chuchitos," and "shukos." It may sound simple, but cooking is something that has the power to tell a story and make an entire country proud.

In summary, we can say that food transports us to special moments in our lives, it makes it possible for us to relive those beautiful memories together with our loved ones. That is why for each person cooking is a new world, it is an art where we can let our creativity fly. Food is something that should make us proud because there is nothing that represents us better.