Reflection on Chef's Challenge

This experience was so great.  Though I had nightmares for several days before that everything would be ruined and was so nervous while cooking, it came out really well and I was able to share some of my favorite dishes from East Africa.  It is very hard to cook a meal from scratch.  It took my friend and I two hours to prepare and cook.  It reminded me of how we learned about the transition to pre-made meals such as Hamburger Helper when more women began working outside of the home.  I feel as if I understand their need for faster, easier meals because I am a busy college student and don’t have the time, much less the money to prepare a meal like this everyday.  Though I enjoyed the process of cooking, it makes me wonder about the day when I have a family and if I will have time to make home cooked meals everyday.  I also learned making meals requires planning and budgeting money and time.  I had to plan what I was going to make and what ingredients I needed and the order I was going to cook the dishes.  It’s the little things like the need to plan and prepare even before you prepare the meal that I wasn’t aware of until I took on this challenge. 

            I want to keep preparing homemade meals for myself and for my family someday.  I enjoy cooking and enjoy the innovative process of coming up with new dishes.  It is rewarding to have something to show for after an extensive process of cooking.  Though, I have become more realistic at the time and money it requires to produce a meal everyday.  I want to do more exploring of food and find ways to cook healthy, yummy meals that don’t require exorbitant amounts of money. 

            My favorite part of this meal was gathering my friends together and sharing something special with them.  I was able to serve them.  We were also able to come together and have fun and share stories.  I was able to tell them about East Africa and they perhaps got a better idea of what East Africa meant to me.  This reminded me of Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, when he asserts that there is more to eating than just replenishing one’s body with nutrients; that eating is a relational activity.  Those shared moments with friends and food are special and need to continue.  Sharing food and conversation add a dimension to the act of eating that I feel is so often lost in our culture today.  I hope to pursue this relational aspect of eating as I continue my journey as an explorer of food.  

 (Above, left):  Mandazi dough

(Above, right):  My first attempt at mandazi, they tasted alright but were very burnt.

The dinner spread.  In the front center is the cabbage dish, front left is ugali, back is goat stew and perfectly, golden mandazi (finally they came out well, but no thanks to me as my friend made the dough and fried them).

Enjoying an East African meal together.