My approach to cooking is grounded in the belief that food is deeply emotional and intimately connected to both our mental health and our physical well-being.
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Most of us inherit the ways we cook, eat, and manage food from our caretakers. Our upbringing, financial stability, home life, and cultural exposure to food all start to influence us from the very beginning. This creates habits that may become so ingrained, we are often unaware of their early roots. Think of your food habits like heirlooms, handed down through generations. Some pieces are beautiful and useful, while others are outdated or don’t serve us anymore. Attaining a healthier relationship with food means sorting through these ‘heirlooms’ to keep what’s beneficial and let go of what no longer fits.
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The key to treating disordered eating is a personalized, harm-reduction approach, which respects individual autonomy rather than imposing external health standards. Recovery is about realistic, achievable steps rather than a forced 'one-size-fits-all' approach. (Devon Price)
Generic meal plans and diets are not tailored to take into account your personal history and unique personality. Additionally, we’re often told to step back from the things that cause us pain or harm, like abstaining from alcohol or other addictive substances. In rehab, for example, these things are stripped away - taken out of our control - giving you a clean break from responsibility. But food is different. With disordered eating, there is no ‘pause’ button, no way to opt out. Food is a constant presence. Our culture centers meal times within social and familial environments. On the most primordial level, we must eat to survive. Thus, the very thing that burdens you is inescapable and essential. Every day, you’re required to engage with it, to consume it. This paradox makes recovery uniquely challenging.
How do we heal our relationship to food while we continue to face it daily?
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For some people, food is a clearly defined, basic need. Thoughts about eating are simple. Food related tasks are easy. Comfortable. For others, these same things can be an enormous burden. Sometimes the thoughts alone can be mentally and physically uncomfortable. It can also be difficult to identify this discomfort in ourselves.
Here is a simple scenario that illustrates how common it is for people to experience vastly different thought patterns around food.
You are having a sandwich for lunch. The sandwich is cut in half. You notice that one half is larger than the other. Which half do you eat first?
Person A: That half on the right looks like it has a great corner bite, I’ll start there!
Person B: I’m so hungry I feel like I am about to die! Hmm, if I eat the smaller half first, I am being responsible. If I have the larger half, I am being greedy. If I only eat one half then I could have some left over… should I save the big half? Maybe I will be more hungry later. Am I even hungry now? Maybe I shouldn’t eat until later. If I don’t eat now I can reward myself. If I only eat the small half, I will feel so ‘good.’ I wish I could just pick. Maybe I am hungry? This sandwich is starting to look gross. I don’t think I’m hungry.
My intention is to illustrate how common it is to have complex, uncontrollable thoughts about food, and how factors we may not yet recognize are quietly steering our behaviors. I’ve met highly intelligent, successful adults who feel ashamed of not knowing how to cook or shop, pressured by an unrealistic expectation to plan, prepare, and execute balanced meals every day. As a chef and human, I am there to meet you wherever you are. Not only do I provide delicious, nourishing meals, but I bring a personal understanding, years of experience, and judgment-free support. I aim to ease the burden of your mental load.
I am here to empower others to confront their inherited patterns, find out what healthy means for them, and cultivate a realistic and sustainable relationship with food.
