or agitated? Of course there can be many reasons for this, but one reason might be that the chef was in an angry mood when cooking the meal. Or alternatively, have you ever eaten a restaurant meal and suddenly felt a surge of joy and wellbeing? It could very well be that the chef was in love and her glowing energy filled your meal.
I have a friend who’s a very good cook and makes traditional Mexican dishes with the ease that many of us brush our teeth or drink our morning coffee. She told me recently that if she’s angry while cooking, even when she’s using the same ingredients and preparing them in the exact same way that she always does, her husband often remarks that the food tastes flat and that it lacks the zest and vitality of her usual meals. She’s noticed that when ire seeps into her food, her five-year-old son sometimes wells up with tears and complains that the food is too spicy . . . even though there are no extra spices. However, when she cooks with love (which is most of the time), her food radiates her joy, and her children rave about the comforting and delicious flavors that come from their mother’s kitchen.
Heartfelt cooking is not just about finding the right balance of savory and sweet, spicy and mild, or the perfect blend of seasonings. It also requires the right blend of happiness and
enthusiasm. When you cook with intention, the emotions and thoughts you have will spiral into each of the dishes. Remarkably, whatever you put into the dish, both food and thought, will be consumed by those at your table. That is to say that your love, joy, and happy energy all emanate from the food you prepare. An angry chef creates meals that emit anger; a joyous chef creates dishes that generate joy.
My daughter Meadow recently returned from an Alaskan cruise where everyone was ecstatic about the food. She had rarely tasted food that was so vibrant and delicious, so she took an opportunity to speak with the executive chef to find out what his secret was. He said that he believed in having fun while he was cooking, because happy chefs make happy food, and happy food makes happy guests. Perhaps, without even knowing it, he and his staff invoked the secret alchemy of cooking, which works in just the same way as the alchemy of a mother’s love.
Recent research at the University of Maryland has shown that foods can actually taste better when they are perceived to be prepared with good intentions. So, when your new boyfriend boasts that his mom’s pot roast is the best in the world, or when your mother reminisces about her mother’s devil’s food cake, it might not be just nostalgia or familial pride. The flavors in these foods may have actually been enhanced by the
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recipient’s belief that they were made with love.
Creating a Meal Filled with Love
Since the energetic state of the chef or cook can be as important as the actual ingredients, if you find yourself in a foul mood, distracted, or even bored or stressed when you’re cooking, you might want to consider taking a few moments to calm your mind, take deep breaths, and attempt to tap into the wellspring of love and joy that resides deep within you before continuing. Otherwise, you could potentially ingest the emotions you were feeling while you cooked, which can create a bit of a self-perpetuating cycle.
Being grounded and centered before commencing a meal filled with love does not have to take a lot of extra time or be an exercise in forcing or willing
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