How to write about cooking memories

You know that recipe that your mom or grandma gave you? Those recipes and cooking moments have cooking memories that go along with them. There was a story that she might have told you about it when she was handing it to you or as she was making it for you for the first time. Did you happen to have a pen handy right then so you could capture every detail about your cooking memories? Probably not.

The video above is all about how to record that story, what to write down, what to ask about, and great follow-up questions to be able to capture the stories behind the recipes that our families and the women in our lives passed down and of course the men in our lives. Check out the clip and if you have any questions on what's in the video feel free to leave them in the comments.

The video includes a live writing exercise interspersed throughout the video. This is an opportunity to get a piece of paper, a writing utensil, and you can work on writing one page of your story.

Audio Version of this content

Stories about cooking and writing about cooking memories

There's a ton of cooking in our lives, no doubt about it. We have to eat and because we have to eat over decades and centuries we've developed different ways of cooking. Right? I’m sure right now you are thinking about all of the different ways you have experienced food in your lifetime.

All of our holidays include something about food (eating it or fasting). There's always some sort of food. You go to a party there's always food. At least most parties. I'm sure there are some parties that don't have food, I don’t usually go to those ones. 😛

As a result of all this food prep and cooking that has to happen for us to, like, survive, many of our memories originate in the kitchen. They are wrapped in things that happen in the kitchen. Things that happen around a table. Things that happen in that in-between space between the table and the kitchen.

If you've had people over and one of those parties where you've worked really hard to clean the rest of your house and everybody still ends up in the kitchen regardless how clean the rest of the place is, I understand. It can be quite frustrating.

But, kitchens are where people feel comfortable and it's easier to congregate there and, you guessed it, make memories. It goes back to that “hearth is the heart of the home” idea.

Writing about cooking memories

A few things to consider…

• There are probably multiple story lines – listen/watch the video for more details
• There is more to the story than the ingredients in the recipe
• You can use what you write in scrapbooks (digital and print)
• Reach out to your extended family for help with the story if the person who gave you the recipe has already passed

You can get a taste of how the Legacy Storytelling Method works by clicking the button below. The page you land on will give you access to a Free version of a more in depth course ($97) that can be found here.

Let me know if you have any questions! You can always pop into the Legacy messenger bubble and ask 🙂

Happy Writing,

Gael, the Legacy Lady