Being the only male in the house, I sometimes have to curb the machismo of my cooking and eating to accommodate the majority house rules. There’s no doubt the ladies eat exponentially more healthy than me, which is a ultimately a blessing because it forces me to contemplate cooking and eating in ways that fall outside my own edible desires…and ensures that I won’t be eating steak and drinking a bottle of wine every night of the week.
Still, most chefs cook because of the gratification that comes from making others happy. No doubt, there are myriad other reasons that include but are not limited to creativity, self expression, linear processing, nostalgia, love of technology…and the list goes on and on…but at the end of the day, my satisfaction in being a chef comes from knowing that my work is enriching the lives of others. Maybe it’s altruism, insecurity, or just plain vanity…but more than likely, a little or lot of a combination of all of those things.