With the money I saved from working as a fisherman on the west coast of Canada I was able to start traveling the world and live in exotic places for me like India and Thailand where my cooking repertoire expanded significantly as a result of one of my guru's insisting that I make cooking one of my primary meditations. I asked my Aya (cleaning lady) in India to teach me how to make my favourite dishes and picked up Thai cooking from a couple of good books. Salads are just an art in themselves too and take a certain love and delicacy for freshness and quality. I learned Italian basic cooking from Osho's photographer who now has a book out on the subject of cuisine and meditation, and has a Japanese Italian restaurant in Goa.
To cook well is to love well.
To love to cook is a great meditation of devotion.