Cooking is the art, science, and craft of preparing, heating, and combining raw ingredients to make them safe, digestible, and flavoury; a vital life skill that directly impacts our health, saves money, builds self-reliance, and connects us to different cultures.

Culinary art is the professional discipline and creative practice of preparing, cooking, and presenting. Serving food is a creative form of expression.

The practice of preparing safe, tasty and nutritious meals, and the need to consume simple, fresh and healthy food together with seasonal vegetables and fruits, has been connected with spiritual matters in various faiths across the world, including Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Greek.

And, according to Greek mythology, Prometheus, the Titan, while not a cook himself, stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humanity. By doing so, he taught mortals how to use fire to cook food and transition from raw diets to civilization.

Among the well-known practitioners of the culinary art are Gordon Ramsay and Sanjeev Kapoor.

In the books of the inimitable P G Wodehouse, Anatole is the supremely skilled French chef, who is described as ‘God’s gift to gastric juices’.

Many people are known to be fond of good and tasty food. In that sense, a ‘gourmet’ is one who appreciates high-quality, sophisticated food, drink, or who judges fine culinary experiences. In a similar sense, ‘foodies’ is a person who has an enthusiastic, refined, or passionate interest in food, eating it not just out of hunger, but as a hobby or lifestyle.

This is perhaps why there is the famed saying, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, meaning that cooking delicious food is a good way to win someone’s love and affection

Mythologies of various cultures in the world contain references to famous persons who excelled in culinary art. In Mahabharat, Bheema is known to be a great cook. In fact, when the Pandava princes need to remain incognito for a whole year and are forced to seek shelter in the court of King Virata, Bheema chooses to don the guise of a cook. Meanwhile, Nala, who ruled the Nishada Kingdom, is renowned not only for his valour and wisdom, but also his mastery of the culinary arts.

A good, tasty, nutritious, and balanced spread is recommended across cultures. In the western countries, a 7-course meal is a structured fine-dining experience where seven distinct dishes are served sequentially in a specific order to guide and balance the diner’s palate.

Likewise, in Indian tradition and Ayurveda, there is the term ‘Pancha Bhakshya’ which describes a complete and balanced meal or a grand royal feast, which, when paired with ‘Paramanna’ or sweet rice pudding, represents a feast that satiates all the five senses and aids proper digestion.

As one looks around the various regions of the world, including India, one encounters many a specific style, method or manner of cooking typical of that place.

Chinese cuisine is known for its diverse culinary tradition, encompassing distinct, regional styles, historical influences and fundamental flavour profiles developed across the country’s geographical landscape.

Rice is the primary staple in the southern and semi–tropical regions while wheat, millet and barley dominate the dryer, northern climates. Dishes frequently build flavours using aromatics and seasonings that are known to be high in protein content.

Mexican cuisine, on the other hand, is celebrated for the ingredients of corn, fresh chilies, avocados, and is famous for the recognition accorded by UNESCO.

Another example is that of French cuisine, which is defined by foundational cooking techniques, fine pastries, sauces, and local cheeses.

Yet another example is the Italian variety, known for fresh Mediterranean ingredients, pasta, and regional pizzas ranked highly on global food lists which feature iconic national dishes, top-rated recipes, and culinary staples from every corner of the planet

And Indian cuisine is acclaimed for spice blends, vegetarian options and distinct regional variations.

Just as in the case of music, dance, sports and games or literature, every nation has its favourite dish. Many such delicacies have gained popularity across the world.

The Pad Thai, a stir–fried rice noodle dish from Thailand, with its sweet, salty, and sour flavours certainly ranks high in that list. For those who are meat eaters, the Italian Carbonara Pasta, with pork, eggs, cheese, and black pepper would be a close competitor. Not far behind is the Haee of England, the Beef Poh of Vietnam, and the Taco Adobada of Mexico. Also, figuring in the list not for taste, but for popularity and following, is the omnipresent Burger of the USA. Not to be left far behind is the traditional Japanese dish sushi. And, as far as India is concerned, everyone knows that the all-time favourites from different parts of the country, but enjoyed by everyone are butter chicken, biryani, masala dosa, pav bhaji, rasagolla and gulab Jamun. Incidentally, many phrases and idioms relating to the practice of cooking find application in the English language. We have the idiom ‘in a soup’ meaning to be in a difficult, awkward or troublesome situation; ‘half baked’ stands for an idea or plan which has not been fully thought out; a ‘flash in the pan’; ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’, ‘soup to toothpick’ or ‘soup to nuts’, stands for the complete sequence of events in a full meal.

A cookbook or cookery book is a culinary reference work that contains a collection of recipes and instructions for food preparation. Cookbooks serve as comprehensive guides that may include cooking techniques, ingredient information, nutritional data, and cultural context related to culinary practices.

The pleasures of good spread have often been the subject matter of praise in poetry, prose and cultures across the world. Perhaps the most popular among them is the amazing variety and dimension of the dishes prepared for a royal wedding in the yesteryear runaway cult Telugu movie Maya Bazaar.

Bob Hope, the well-known American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer, acts as a hunter in one his movies titled ‘Call me Bwana’. In one scene, his mother-in-law prepares breakfast for both and serves it to him. Noting his expression after tasting one morsel of the food, she exclaims that, after all, she is an interior decorator and not a cook. And Bob wryly retorts, “Just think what you are doing to mine!”

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)