Passion

It has not been many generations since cooking became a form of leisure. Before now, cooking was not a typical go to when in need of entertainment, education and inspiration. Today, lots of food shows are organized and the viewers are engrossed not just from the scintillating imagination of what is cooking but from the relaxation of watching, reading and sometimes reminiscing on the taste of what is being prepared in these shows.

Personally, I enjoy watching cooking shows and competition. I know football fans would disagree, but what else beats the excitement, suspense, rush, panic, thrill and anticipation of any cooking? Although the anxiety sometimes increases my pulse and causes frantic sweating, it leaves me entertained and amused and the laughter at the mere thought of being so restless because something is cooking is pure joy.

Likewise has been my cooking experience, I enjoy myself a lot when it comes to preparing food. Imagine me, exhausted, languid, jaded with my body physically yearning for sleep yet I would get in to an apron to experiment recipes, prep ingredients, cook and drown myself in kitchen activities. I seldom believe in determination but whenever I get to put myself up to the challenge of cooking anything no matter how many times I've done it before, I prove there is indeed determination and I am capable of it.

Eventually doing what we love makes us givers more than receivers and before we realise it, we become like beacons to others, telling them about our niche, exposing the truths, debunking the myths and relating our passion to real-life experiences.

There is a room for expression doing something you love provides you. I find it easier to express love when the means of communication is edible and saporific. Often, I've prepared food not because I like it so much but because someone I love desires to eat that particular food and I feel constrained by love to make it for them. Meals like Ofada rice and sauce perhaps will never be on my menu but for love: love for the consumer(s) and for cooking.

Cooking has changed me in a lot of ways and when I say cooking, I am referring to the different methods of preparing food which includes but not limited to baking, boiling, braising, broiling, frying, grilling, roasting, sauteing, searing, simmering, smoking and steaming. To be honest, I've learnt and developed patience from the time I've spent waiting for beans to be soft and for meat to be tender. Even recently, I learnt from making Ofada sauce, how to strike a balance. That is why it is possible to cook an all-pepper sauce perfectly fused with heat and sweetness. The sapidity of this sauce was so great that for a moment, I forgot most of the base ingredients were red peppers.

What is my goal in all of this? To be another cooking aficionado or a foodaholic? No, my goal is just to do something I love in a way that adds lasting value to others. Of course, I would like to be identified with food and personally develop a deeper understanding of my passion but what I want more is to be always generous with the experience, taste, and knowledge of cooking with my wonderful audience - You.