How to appreciate food you don't like
Feb 25, 2009
When you travel, it is sometimes challenging to try local food. You think you want to experience new tastes but often what you really want is the what is familiar. Here in Liberia, people cook with things that I don't normally like - for example, Maggie boullion cubes or canned meat. It is hard to find the mindset to appreciate new cooking when it is something so different from what you are familiar with or are accustomed to. We tend to judge other food by a certain standard when, of course, everyone has different standards. |
My love of cooking has always been in me as long as I remember. And it has always been driven by a love of making my family happy. My father, who was a true gourmet and also an excellent home cook, took me to many wonderful restaurants all over Tokyo even when I was very small. He took me to the local cafe all the time to indulge his favorite baked cheese cake and I wanted to surprise him to make it one day. When I was 13, I saved money from my monthly allowance and I went to the fancy bakeware store and bought my first cake pans and a mixing bowl (I remember it was over $100). And it became my rituals to bake his favorite dessert for a valentine's day and his birthday each year. |
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 January 2009 |
