COOKING AS A LITERACY 1

Whitney Wilder

LBS 310-01

September 26, 2017

Cooking as a Literacy
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When I was 5 years old, I became very interested in cooking to the point where I would

ask my mom for play kitchen sets. Once I got one, I was so excited to play with it. My mom

would give me uncooked spaghetti, rice, and water that I could use for pretending. Any time my

mom would cook I would stand right next to her and watch her. Sometimes, I would even beg

her to let me help. Often, she would deny me because she was anxious to get dinner done until

she recognized my interest. This was the start of my interest flourishing into an enjoyable hobby.

After my mom recognized my interest she began letting me help her more. She started teaching

me how to season chicken where she would guide my hand in the right motion so, that I could do

it properly.

This then blossomed into me becoming my mom’s sous chef whenever she cooked

especially when she would prepare thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. During these different

cooking opportunities, my literacies expanded because she introduced me to knife skills,

measurements, and recipes. Cooking together later became a Saturday tradition where my mom

and I would watch the Food Network Channel and then recreate our favorite recipe we saw that

day for dinner. As I grew up, I cherished those moments with my mom so, it became the driving

force behind me creating and experimenting with different recipes. It wasn’t long before I

became the best cook in my family and the person who could perfect any dish with her first

attempt without using a recipe.

I chose to explore this event because I have so many personal ties with cooking. At one

point in my life, I felt that I didn’t have any type of special skill. But my eagerness to pursue

cooking proved otherwise. I was determined to learn how create recipes and learn what flavors

pair well together and what doesn’t. I began to immerse myself in researching and watching
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different shows that would inspire me to create a plethora of recipes that my family request on

the daily. I then discover the reason behind why I love to cook. The reason I love to cook is

because I enjoy the response that my family gives me every time they eat a dish that I make. The

smiles and sound of pure pleasure from eating my food feels my heart with joy. There are many

aspects to cooking that must be learned and mastered to be an efficient cook such as

measurement, knife skills, replicating recipes etc. These skills should be acquired, and they

require a certain level of competency that can be looked at as literacy. Cooking is composed of

many literary aspects such as cultural significance, visual representation/technology, motion, and

space that qualifies cooking as a literacy.

I believe literacy is having the competency, knowledge, and proficiency in a specific

area. According Haggarty 2010, literacy is seen as “competent handling of texts that are

meaningful to “insiders” of particular sociocultural practices and discourse communities” (Gee,

et al., 1996, p.180). Therefore, this means that the practices, skills, and languages are particular

to those who take part in a specific literacy which are a part of a community that share the same

interest and skills. On the contrary, those who do not practice this literacy are not a part of that

literary community. Cooking as a literacy fits this definition because this literacy requires a

person to have knowledge of different jargon and cooking methods to understand what a chef

may be talking about when watching a cooking show or talking to someone who is a part of this

particular community. Another way that cooking can be a literacy is that all over the world chefs

and food connoisseurs come together to collaborate, learn, and share different ideas and methods

for cooking that has become a cultural practice that many people participate in daily.
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One literacy aspect of cooking is the cultural significance it has in my family. Growing

up in my family, everyone no matter if they are male or female learns to cook. Because it is part

of our family culture, it is important that we are taught at a young age. Once we are old enough

to be trusted to cook on our own, we are then assigned a dish that we must cook and bring to

family gatherings. When we get together for birthdays and holidays we always potluck which is

where everyone is responsible for bringing a dish. Whoever is facilitating the event will assign

the dish that they think will be good for the person to make. For example, over the years I have

become proficient in making macaroni and cheese so now I am the only person who will be

assigned that dish because it is a unanimous decision amongst my family members that I make it

the best out of everyone in my family.

According to my mom she started teaching me how to cook with a simple task like

seasoning chicken to see if I was truly interested in cooking the same way her mom did with her.

Once she felt like I mastered the art of seasoning she would then show me how to cut up

vegetables like onion, bell pepper, celery, and how to peel and cut potatoes. Starting off like this

gave me a sense of participation in our cultural practices as a child. With this teaching, she

introduced new and rare words to me such as peeling, chop, dice, sauté, and julienne that I later

incorporated in my cooking vocabulary (in person interview with my mom Selina, 2017). This is

a literacy because as a child I could understand the cultural significance of cooking in my family

and I was able to comprehend the language and understand what it takes to cook.

Visual representation such as cooking shows and pictures of what a dish should look like

is an important literacy aspect of cooking because it helps you get an understanding of what steps

it takes to make a dish as well as what the dish should look like after you make it. As a child, my
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mom incorporated visual representation and technology to aid in increasing my mom’s ability to

cook as well as mine. According to NAEYC 2012, “Appropriate technology and media use

balances and enhances the use of essential materials, activities, and interactions in the early

childhood setting, becoming part of the daily routine” (Anderson, et al., 2000, p.5). My mom

used technology appropriately because she used it in moderation and alternated between

technology/visual representation and print materials like cook books. She also used it as a

teaching aid for me and to enhance my learning experience because I was able to watch other

people cook besides her. This can be considered a literacy because through technology and

visual representation I have learned to identify different cooking methods and have enhanced my

technique by watching the way that professional chefs operate in their kitchens.

Motion is a literacy event that is important in the art of cooking because there are certain

movements needed for certain dishes. For example, my mom taught me the motion of seasoning

and how to shake with the right amount of force. Before she showed me how to season I was

shaking the seasoning very lightly to ensure that I wouldn’t over season. My mom then came and

guided my hand and exerted the amount of force needed. She then told me to not be scare but to

trust my ability to season. It is important to “play a character” when learning because learning

will work best if the child thinks, acts, and value the skill that they are trying to learn (Gee,

2003). In this case, I was learning how to cook so therefore I valued the advice and

encouragement my mom gave me and used it to my advantage. This is a literacy because it takes

practice to get the different motions of cooking right. But with the proper knowledge one will be

able to become proficient and competent of all the different motions needed for cooking.
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The last literacy aspect I find important in cooking is the space. Space is important

because the kitchen, right amount counter space and appliances will make your cooking

experience easier. As a child mom made sure that we had enough space and the right tools we

needed to cook. Although we had a small kitchen with minimal counter space we were still able

to work with what we had. If we needed more prep space, we would utilize the kitchen table. In

the case of Joe, he used space in a different way. By looking at the play yard at his school he was

able to determine that there wasn’t enough space for him to bring his motor cross bike to school

to show to his peers (Haggarty 2010). Because of his experience in motor cross he learned to

gauge the space around him. I can relate with Joe because as a child I had learn how to cook in a

small space with my mom and now I can adapt to any space. Having the ability to determine if a

space is too small and the ability to utilize a small space is a literacy that I have learned through

cooking because when I decide to cook I don’t always have right amount of space, but I have

learned to adapt and make use of what I have.

The literacy of cooking meets my definition of literacy because through the many literacy

aspects I have gained knowledge, competency, and have become proficient in the areas of

cultural significance, visual representation/technology, motion, and space. This literacy event

could be important to early childhood educators because there are many literacy event aspects

that can relate to each individual student whether they are interested in cooking or not. For

example, as a lesson I would have the students read a book and/or watch a movie that shows

different cultures food and how it is prepared. Then asks questions about the food that they eat in

their cultures and if they know how it is prepared. I would take a vote on what the class favorite

food is, and we will make it in class. Lastly, we would have a multicultural potluck where the

students will get to try food from different cultures and give a brief explanation of its importance
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to its respected culture. This lesson incorporates different literacies such as space, cultural

practices, motion, and technology. At least one of these literacies will spark and interest in the

students.

The insight I have gained from writhing this paper is that everything is considered a

literacy no matter what it is because everything we do requires some type knowledge,

competency, and skill. This exercise was important because it helps us as future teachers to be

able to recognize the different literacies that our students may possess. Once we can recognize

those literacies, we will be able to use them in our lessons so that the students can exercise those

skills and use them at school and not just at home. This will impact my life in major way because

I will be able to identify the strengths and the literacies that my students have which I feel will

help me to be an effective teacher.

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Reference page

Gee, J. (2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.
Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Haggerty, M. (2010). Exploring curriculum implications of multimodal literacy in a New

Zealand early childhood setting. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal,
18 (3), p. 177-189.

NAEYC. (2012). Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs
Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. Washington D.C. National Association for
the Education of Young Children.

Wilder, S. (2017). Personal Interview.