Pages like Tastemade, Tasty, and Spoon University grab my attention from the very minute the background music begins. These tutorials hook you on and next thing you know, its an hour and 30 videos later. And thus, it becomes a habit
Soon, you've liked every possible food page you could think of and then your Facebook feed turns into a world class kitchen. It transforms into an obsession and takes over your life—I would know.
During the final months of high school, when I caught a severe case of senioritis, I studied food instead of hitting the books. My eyes were glued to these videos all day, everyday. Lectures and homework evolved into cooking class, and boy, did I learn.
1. To Broaden My Horizons
As I explored Facebook food videos more and more, I discovered international foods, that I had never heard of. Things like the Spanish omelet and French desserts you could create from puff pastry were now regular items coming out of my kitchen.
I began to challenge myself and attempt the most complex of recipes. I dedicated long hours to perfecting croissants from scratch, late nights to making a napoleon cake and I studied Ratatouille like a textbook.
#SpoonTip: When you have free time, I recommend making the Ratatouille from the famous Disney/Pixar movie; you won't regret it.
2. Cooking with Confidence
I always wondered how I would ever master cooking without a recipe, if I always used one as a crutch to lean on. Initially, I carefully copied the demonstrator's every move until my dish was perfect, but once I got enough practice, I could pretty much guesstimate anything. Cooking without a safety belt, is a lot more fun and challenging than following a guidebook
My food video obsession helped me gain the confidence to take matters into my own hands and assembling pies, cheesecakes, and ganache became natural. One day, I decided to challenge myself and create a lemon cheesecake with three layers: chocolate ganache, pie crust and lemon cheesecake
As I threw a bunch of ingredients together in a big bowl, the dessert came together better than I ever expected. If I did screw up, I would only learn from my mistakes—the greatest thing you can do in cooking.
It came out perfectly.
3. How to Step Behind the Camera
As I watched every popular food channel during my senior year, I was drawn into SORTEDfood, ChefSteps and the Snapchat feature stories from Tastemade and Food Network. Through the Food Network's Snapchat stories, I gained in sight on new recipes, the best of restaurants and the holy grail of the college food community: Spoon University
Every Saturday on the Food Network's Snapchat Story would be a segment called, "Spoon Saturdays." During this takeover, Spoon University would lead Food Network's story with new recipes, jokes and restaurant recommendations.
When I uncovered the "food resource of our generation," I researched it further, and of course, I stalked their Facebook page as hard as I could. As soon as I realized that I could write for Spoon in a year, I was ecstatic and I made it a goal to get involved. So I did, and I'm now more obsessed than ever before.
4. You Definitely Are What You Eat
Before studying food videos, I never fully understood what I was eating. I simply chowed down on whatever I was in the mood for.
After watching close to every food made, I finally understand that Chicken Alfredo is made with cream and cheese, raw cookie dough is mainly butter and sugar and my Starbucks Chai Latté contains 42 grams of sugar.
I have a completely different perspective on food now and appreciate what I put into my body.
5. It's Time To Pitch In
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Do you ever eat dinner past 8pm? What about 9pm? Well, sometimes, my family would eat dinner at 10 pm. With two parents who worked late, sometime I would be waiting around all night to finally sit down for the night. Once I learned to cook, my life changed; my family got to have our meal together before the rest of the world went to bed
After my dad refilled the fridge, I would call and ask him what he and my mom wanted for a dinner. By the time they got home, I had dinner on the table and we could focus on enjoying each other's company.
6. Creativity is Key
As soon as I understood my tastebuds and how certain foods interacted, I got into creating original recipes. Food videos taught me how certain flavors interacted with different cooking styles to create a dish bound to be a hit, right off the top of my head
I began with making chocolate from cacao nibs and a chocolate tart from plants. What followed was a burst of ideas: sauces, cakes, breads and other new recipes. Watching food videos and gaining more confident in my culinary skills, inspired me to take risks in the kitchen.
7. Having Relationship with Food is Healthy
Although people say they "love food," I feel like I am the true definition of a foodie. Between watching food videos daily, cooking dinner for my family, create my own recipes and exploring different foods whenever I can, being a foodie has given me a much broader knowledge and appreciation of food
Food brings happiness, relationships and comfort to this world of uncertainty. It's not only a hobby, but a passion. Food is studied, loved and best of all, eaten.
If someone can create something that make the people they love happy, they're giving kindness to a world that really needs it. That's why I love food so much: it simply makes life better.