The Chowhound challenge – describe your cooking in 3 words

sweet potato muffins

We imagine many of our members post on Chowhound – one of the largest discussion boards on food. Recently, one of the discussions concerned a rather interesting question, “Can you describe your cooking style in three words?” That fairly simple question started a personal train of thought that eventually included how to define cooking styles, how personal cooking styles change over time, how cultural cooking styles not only change but merge, and, of course, how we would personally meet the challenge.

And, in fact, the answers already posted reflect on all of these questions. Here are ten of our favorites:

  • “untrained, clueless, lucky”
  • “impulsive, imprecise, resourceful”
  • “always getting better”
  • “why I’m fat”
  • “comforting, venturesome, occasionally burnt”
  • “nostalgic, diverse, fearless”
  • “esoteric sacred grub”
  • “first, a corkscrew”
  • “usually not fatal”
  • “always with love” 

All of which brings home perhaps the best thought of all – how wonderfully diverse is the food world, despite (or maybe because) of the one commonality we all share: the love of food and cooking.

We’d love to hear your three words. Ours? Perhaps “Just try it.”

Post a comment

4 Comments

  • Jane  on  January 27, 2013

    I'm copying one I read on there: Slave to recipes. I love cooking from cookbooks and I do follow the instructions, at least the first time.

  • Christine  on  January 27, 2013

    I'd say "Always better homemade" — Don't get me wrong, not everything I make comes out great and not every recipe is a "keeper." But I truly believe if I can buy it, I can probably make it better at home — maybe not on the first try, but it's fun trying different recipes to find the one I like best!

  • Laura  on  January 27, 2013

    My favorite cooking style: "One Pot Meals." Takes a lot of the anxiety out of cooking: everything is done at the same time!

  • Natasha  on  January 27, 2013

    I think mine would be "delicious; insufficiently often". I cook quite well these days, but still have a weakness for someone else to cook or do the dishes.

Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!