Creative Cooking

I was going to write something about whether cooking is an art or a science, but I see many others have done so before me. My view though is that creative cookery is more of an art, it is about blending colours and tastes smells and textures, to please all of the senses – even hearing, (think about pans sizzling or the crunching of carrots ). Like any art, it can be understood by science, ingredients can be quantified, their interactions with one another can be explained in scientific terms, the effects of heat or cold can be witnessed, but the alchemy of combinations is transcendent and ranks among all the other creative arts. It is of no surprise to me that, the designers that I work with are almost all good cooks, our bring and share lunches are always great, because they bring the same approach to food as they do to the creation of any other design. Importantly, creative cooking means trusting and following your intuition. 

I was not popular with the teacher who taught ‘domestic science’ (later to be ‘home economics’) at school. I still remember the trauma of being forced to hold and gut a fish in a lesson. However, despite this, for as long as I can remember I have been cooking by intuition rather than following recipes to the letter. It is my belief that understanding your ingredients and what you are aiming for, helps you to be able to improvise and experiment and to create good food. The recipes on this site are all the result of experimentation, I don’t measure quantities when experimenting, and in order to pass these recipes on I have had to weigh things retrospectively. Passing on know-how rather than exact written instructions must have been how people have cooked, or indeed created anything, for many centuries. 

Many of my non-cooking friends are scared of making a mistake when cooking or baking, and, my sense is that this fear stops them from ‘feeling’ what they are cooking. Although many recipes are great, there are often slight adjustments needed, a little more liquid for example or conversely something to absorb liquid. If you are able to develop a feel for how things should be then you can confidently make such adjustments. To become an intuitive cook though, like many other creative pursuits, means focusing entirely on the task in front of you rather than letting your hands do one thing while your head is elsewhere. It is this ‘getting in the zone’ that makes the difference between cooking being an enjoyable and relaxing way to spend time and it simply being a way to refuel. To develop this frame of mind it may help to note and appreciate the ingredients that you have in front of you, and maybe even think about where they have come from and how. When you cut vegetables look at their colour, their structure, when you blend ingredients look at the way they coalesce, when you cook or bake, observe the transformations that are taking place – treat cooking like a piece of performance art where you are spectator and the ingredients are the actors. Above all, give it time.