Food Thoughts: Cooking as Gift-Giving

The Last Chinese Barbecue from Gourmet (before it died, RIP) tells many stories in one — passionate man prepares food with care, cook maintains artisanal ethnic food craft, immigrant makes better life for his children, to name a few. But what stood out most to me was the universal story of using food skills and talents as a service, a gift, to those you love.

He says, “When I retire, I can just relax and cook for myself and my friends. Cooking for them is the most satisfying thing I can think of to do.” Then, I understood why he cut me good pieces from the pig all day long, why he hands out the tofu. His work is hard, but he also gets to give.