Introduction

 

What is Cooking For Others? 

     I grew up in a family of seven, the youngest of five children. Every night, we ate dinner together, as a family. My mother needed help, of course, to cook for a crowd that size.  For reasons only she knows, over time Mom eventually “fired” my older siblings. Instead, she enticed and gradually enslaved me as her preferred kitchen assistant.
     I didn’t mind. In fact, some of my earliest, happiest memories are of unpacking all the groceries she and I hauled home together from the supermarket.  I probably knew how to make meatballs before I could spell “meatballs;” I learned to multiply by doubling and tripling recipes. Eventually, I grew comfortable with, and became comforted by, the task of preparing large quantities of food.
     Fast forward: I am now a freelance journalist, writing about food, travel, and design for a variety of newspapers and magazines (visit www.stephenhenderson.com). I live with James, my husband of two decades, in a newly- renovated apartment in New York City, where I designed the kitchen of my dreams.

     And, the problem is....?

     Well, since you asked, it's that I don’t have enough mouths to feed.

     James and I like to eat, and we love entertaining our friends and families. Of late, though, with America’s worsening economy and increasing numbers of people in a bad way, I’ve wished my pots and pans were simmering for those who really need a good meal.

     So, I am launching this website to find new opportunities to cook for culinary charity, and to learn more about other people like me who enjoy cooking for others.
     If you know of someone, or some place, that might make an interesting addition to my research into "gastro-philanthropy," please contact me:  stephen@cookingforothers.com.