To all our fellow Bruins struggling to cook for themselves: we got you covered.
Fourth-year UCLA student Laila Adarkar has spent her life cooking up a storm, and now you, too, can try her yummiest dishes. Back in February of 2022, Laila unveiled her highly anticipated meal kit product Cook This Kit to UCLA students, and it has been a huge hit since. Looking for an affordable, sustainable, easy-to-make meal? Cook This Kit is perfect for you.
Every two weeks, Laila drops a new kit to reserve by filling out a Google form on the Cook This Kit Instagram account. You can pick up your kit at the Farmer’s Market at UCLA in Bruin Plaza within the allotted time frame. The meals vary for each kit, but we guarantee they will be both nutritious and delectable.
Her Campus at UCLA had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Laila about her experiences with food, female entrepreneurship, Cook This Kit and more:
HC: How did you first get interested in cooking?
LA: I’ve been interested in cooking my entire life. I grew up in the Bay Area in a heavily food-centered environment with a food-centered family; my sisters and I would always help out in the kitchen, cutting up green beans, mincing garlic, and whatever else was needed. We would have cooking competitions imitating the Food Network show Chopped.
Once I got older, I realized how much I liked making things for other people. During soccer carpool, we’d take turns bringing snacks for the team. I baked everyone salted caramel cupcakes! I’d make my dad lasagna on his birthday, packed my own school lunches and even had a food Instagram in high school, though only to show off other restaurants, not my own creations.
HC: Before Cook This Kit, were you involved in any food communities at UCLA?
LA: I definitely leaned more into cooking during my freshman year of college. I joined the UCLA Farmer’s Market Club [which Laila is now the director of, BTW]. Cooking for my friends is the main appeal. There’s nothing quite like it.
HC: How did you get started with Cook This Kit?
LA: Coming to college, I realized not everyone grew up in such food-centered environments. I was constantly posting food and recipes and hosting dinners with friends, and many people reached out to me asking how I was able to cook so often and so well. It’s hard to carve out time to find ingredients and make new recipes, which is super valid, and I found myself wanting to be a stepping stone for others. I had this idea of making kits with fresh ingredients and under thirty-minute recipes. I want the kits to not only introduce new recipes to people but to teach them new skills about cooking. Recipes should not feel constricting.
HC: How do you practice sustainability with Cook This Kit?
LA: I don’t feel good about supplying tons of plastic items. I want to feel good about my product. Blue Apron, for example, comes with loads of plastic tools. To avoid this with Cook This Kit, people put down a security deposit for reusable jars, then either get their deposit back or keep the jars.
I try to get fresher and better-tasting products too. I love interacting with farmers and getting their deals. It feels human. Social media also helps with sustainability. I don’t want to give out flimsy pieces of paper to people with each kit that inevitably gets thrown away, so I post the recipe digitally.
HC: Do you have a favorite cookbook?
LA: I have SO many incredible cookbooks. I really love Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. It teaches you how to be an intuitive cook.
HC: What is your current favorite dish to cook?
LA: Hmmm. I’ve always loved pesto pasta, and you can easily spice it up with whole wheat or chickpea noodles, Brussels sprouts, kale, toasted nuts, etc.
Lately, I’ve been making a lot of homemade tortillas. All you need is masa and water. I like to add scrambled eggs, kimchi and furikake. Kimchi egg tacos! Tortillas are super fun to make, like play-doh for adults!
HC: Are there any female chefs or entrepreneurs who inspire you?
LA: So many! Molly Baz’s Cook This Book inspired the name of Cook This Kit.
In general, I think food and women create an interesting space. Women have been sequestered in the kitchen in many ways. So often restaurant kitchen staff and five-star chefs are male-dominated when women have always been the backbone of cooking.
Also, narratives for food and women are often torturous. Your body deserves nourishment and love. As much as I love cooking for other people, there is something so special about cooking for yourself.
HC: Can you offer some advice to college women looking to start their own businesses?
LA: Have a plan! SO many unexpected things will happen. You need to think about how other people will think. Not everybody loves tomatoes or knows how to cut an onion.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The beginning of Cook This Kit was a shitshow. I was carrying fifty shoeboxes from my apartment to campus, stressing so much. I hired a team this year, which has helped tremendously.
Also, apply for grants! These can give you some financial wiggle room with your product.
Passion attracts passion and energy attracts energy. Your ideas might seem unfathomable in your mind, but they’re not. Now’s as good a time as any to bite the bullet and get started.
HC: What is coming up in Cook This Kit’s future?
LA: I really want to make a zine showcasing all my recipes and publish it!
Check out the Cook This Kit linktr.ee today for recipes, kit sign-ups and more. Laila has dozens of delicious and healthy recipes perfect for college students to tackle. If you’re looking for some dorm-friendly kits, Laila has those too! Check out her overnight oats or snack assembly suggestions. They’re the ideal on-the-go meals.
We can’t wait to see what Laila cooks up in the future. Be sure to follow @cookthiskit on Instagram and reserve your kit now. As Laila stressed, cooking should be fun, freeing and communal. Time to channel your inner chef, Bruins!