The Papa

I’ve always loved cooking. Never pursued it professionally though. I believe that everything looses its fun if you do it for money. So I started cooking to relax. It is me-time that helps me finish with my job and start my life at home everyday.

Cooking is wonderful, it offers everything a hobby should. It is a time of mindfulness, creativity, repetition and focus all in one. I forget about the daily stress of being a lawyer and go into myself, I work with colors, tastes and smells, even touch. I chop and chop and I follow a plan that requires technical skills and knowledge on a scale from easy to challenging to almost impossible.

I do freestyle cooking. Nobody taught me recipes, I’ve never been to cooking school, I only did the occasional workshop to learn the basics: how to use a knife, how to treat meat, how to create sauces, etc. These basics allowed me to practice and create my own meals based on books and cooking shows.

When I was younger, I focused on creating sophisticated multi-course meals. After my first son was born who is now four, I adjusted and my food became simpler to a degree. I am trying to cook how we, the parents, like to eat while being able to also serve it to my kids, with or without minor adaptions. Even more so after we had a second boy who is now one. I’m a big believer in that the family comes together to eat. At the table, you learn a lot from and about each other.

I love to be the cook of the family. I do what I enjoy, and get rewarded with gratitude, which is priceless. It was suggested to me that I share my cooking style and my ideas in a blog. Because I like to write, too, I thought, why not.

So here it goes. Enjoy!