My Relationship With Food

The other day I read a post on Twitter about how food in Britain is devoid of joy, community and closeness, which set me thinking about my own relationship with food. Like most Indian men, I didn;'t learn to cook until I was forced to. Looking back at my year living in Holland, I am amazed how I managed to survive, given how badly I Cooked. I had no clue how to cook using spices, much less Indian spices. I remember my favourite dish was rice cooked with chicken and vegetables flavoured with only pepper. I cooked the dish a few months ago, and was again amazed that I used to so fond of it at one point. In Holland, I ate out quite a lot, which is now wonder as I was a bad cook. It was only after I moved to England that my cooking skills improved, and with that came a change in my relationship with food. I always sued to think that while I had a healthy appetite, I always had low standards. I would make a terrible food critic, because I am so easily pleased that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between good and great food. But, as my cooking skills have improved, I have become more discerning when it comes to food. I honestly prefer cookingmy own food to eating out, not because I am a great cook but because food standards and portion sizes in England are quite bad. I also put more care in planning my meals, consulting people for new recipes and searching for new ingredients. Many good cooks make very basic meals when they are cooking for themselves, reserving fancy meals for when they have company. My meals are not super-elaborate but they are as elaborate as they would be if I was cooking for company.  

 I am not a foodie by any means, but I enjoy cooking.