“Is Barefoot Contessa on yet?”
In elementary school, there was not a day that passed by without me asking my mom this question. My mom and I would watch this show everyday after she picked me up from school, and it is one of my fondest memories to date. I was always fascinated by how sophisticated Ina and her recipes were, always wishing I could be just like her.Â
I was always fascinated by seeing others cook, whether it was Ina Garten in the Hamptons or my grandmother, every weekend in her apartment. After being inspired by these different figures in my life, by the end of middle school I was cooking meals and baking sweets for my friends and family all of the time. When COVID hit and lockdown went into order, I found myself cooking everyday, which served as the perfect distraction from all of the chaos, suffering, and conflict happening in the world. During this time, I was also not able to visit my grandmother as a safety precaution, which was extremely difficult because we spent a lot of quality time with each other and were extremely close. This also meant that I had no way of eating her amazing food. I decided to take matters into my own hands and begged her to share some of her favorite recipes with me. After one too many sessions of teaching my grandma how to operate Zoom, we were cooking together weekly. She taught me how to cook many of my favorite dishes, even though I’ll never make it as good as her!
Beyond just the recipes, it was so meaningful for me to be able to spend time with her, even though it was virtual. Now that I get to see my grandma in person, I love bringing her the food I make and getting her thoughts and opinions! Food has always been my grandmother’s love language, and I definitely have embraced it as well. Food has the special ability to bring people together and unite them through the worst or the best of times. I have come to deeply cherish this, as being able to share meals with my entire extended family has become more and more of a rarity. This makes me treasure these moments even more, and further, I feel extremely fortunate to be able to express my love and care for others by cooking for them.