Yoghurt and onions isn’t really the breakfast of champions. Nevertheless, my first recollection of cooking is of an exceedingly enthusiastic four-year-old trying to make his mother an appetizing meal for her birthday.

For years, cooking has been my therapy, allowing me to defuse stress and frustration. It has empowered me to flourish and to bloom as an individual, to care for those around me, and to express myself through my craft.  I have cooked to escape the reality of life after loss.

I have cooked to spread happiness to others in times of sorrow.

I have cooked to celebrate with family and friends.

But, what has always intrigued me is the principle of the recipe: a flawless set of instructions that inevitably yields an ideal outcome. Could a foolproof formula really exist? And if so, what is the perfect recipe – the dish that caters to all?

Chocolate dipped strawberries were briefly my answer. Simple to make and universally savored, they seemed to fit my interpretation of the picture-perfect dish. However, in haste, I had managed to burn the chocolate. Maybe they weren’t for me.

My second endeavor was croquembouche, an intensely laborious dessert to make that was sure to please all.

Despite its grandiose appearance, it did not please my mother’s palate. Maybe not all of us have a sweet tooth.

With its exemplary combination of flavor, crunch, and creaminess, perhaps the perfect dish was sushi. But the effort I put in did not reciprocate in the results. Not to mention how unpalatable my brother found the sushi to be.

Maybe raw seafood isn’t for everyone.  Alas, I had tried everything. From fettuccine to fajitas, from hummus to habanero chicken, nothing seemed to satisfy everyone. I guess there isn’t a perfect recipe after all; you have to season to taste.

What began as a seemingly trivial quest for the faultless recipe turned out to reconstruct my perception of life. As an innate scientist, I have always approached obstacles with a certain degree of precision and exactitude.

However, the ever-changing world is filled with challenges and tribulations, and there is no universal remedy. But when all else fails, follow your intuition for, more often than not, you will be met with success. And the occasional ‘yoghurt and onions’.

And how do I season my life ?

With a handful of imagination, a dollop of happiness, a healthy knob of enthusiasm, a dash of humility, a pinch of rationality, and a sliver of optimism. Stir well.