Why I Cook
October 22, 2026
Without mincing words, or even garlic, the real reason is because I like to eat. Good food, even great food. Over the years my palate has become very picky. I currently live in a fancy schmancy retirement community that includes meals. But I don’t like the food here, so I continue to cook. And I still enjoy cooking because it’s a creative endeavor, plus it allows me to eat what tickles my tastebuds. It’s quite an endeavor, actually — the planning, the grocery shopping, and finally the actual cooking. But I find that it’s well worth all the effort.
Take the grocery shopping, for instance. I hire what I call “grocery angels” to do it for me at this advanced age (I’m 80 years old). We have it down to a system. I write out the lists, and while they are in the stores, we text back and forth madly. They send photos of the products if there is a question, and I respond. This works out much better than using Instacart as an example because I get exactly what I really want. Then the angel helps me put away the groceries, a totally tedious chore. My kitchen is stocked as if for a small restaurant, by the way, so I can prepare whatever my hungry heart desires.
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Then there’s the planning. That’s actually tons of fun. I’m addicted to cooking shows not only for their entertainment value but for the recipes. Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, Chris Kimball, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, the list goes on. I also get several emails daily from various sources offering more recipes. How do I keep track of this vast array, you might ask? There is a fabulous app which I discovered called ReciMe. It stores my newfound recipes with the touch of a fingertip. The days of a library of cookbooks is long over for me. What is still very important, however, is my collection of treasured family recipes which are on the original 3 x 5 cards. So much delicious food and fond memories!
Those precious cards remind me that the other reason I cook is because of family tradition. Food was a big deal in the Musy household. My paternal grandfather was a classically trained French chef from Lausanne, Switzerland. I still have his chef’s knives with his initials etched in the handles. He taught my father the importance of cooking well, so Dad was able to concoct just about anything without a recipe. My mother, on the other hand, had to learn her culinary skills on the job. My parents married just after WWII when rationing was still in effect. There was nearly a divorce, I understand, because Mom didn’t know how to prepare a grapefruit correctly, that is, by separating each individual section. Funny family lore. Mom did become an excellent cook, although she depended on recipes rather than savoir faire.
Perhaps because I grew up eating delectable food, I learned to love it. While living in Italy in my younger days, I had a gorgeous Italian boyfriend named Nicola. One time we were dining in an open-air restaurant in Agrigento, Sicily. I was delighting in something delicioso, I don’t even remember what, and Nicola said, “You really love to eat, don’t you?” I’ve never forgotten that. I love to eat good food to this day. So perhaps you can understand why I also love to cook. Food nourishes not only our bodies but our souls. Eating well and preparing food with love brings me so much joy.
