From the time the cavemen discovered fire, the art and science of cooking was born. They soon realized how much better the tenderloin of a beautiful wild buffalo (bison to some people) when cooked over fire than eaten bloody raw. And from thereon, cooking evolved in leaps and bounds and multitudes of mountains of tastes and preferences and cultural limitations and historical heritage, and what not. In other words, cooking is no longer merely bringing some meat and vegetables over fire but bringing to a level of glory for our tastes and palates.

Which is what I think cooking is really all about – creating something that would please our taste, preference and eyeball appreciation, and perhaps to a lesser extent to many people, our values, our history and heritage. Some may say, it’s just food, sustenance to keep on living, but if one looks at the h istory and evolution of the culinary world, cooking is truly a world all its own, a wonderful place for many people, not just to make a living bu t also to explore, venture, develop one’s self. Besides everybody has to eat so why not make it a wonderful, pleasurable activity. Make every bite an experience by itself, knowing and appreciating each nuance of taste, texture and color.

Which is why I have this site. I want to be able to express the cook in each and everyone of us and discover how great each of us can b e. Remember cooking is mostly about creativity and I believe each of us are creative in our way. And I want to have a forum where we can share our ideas and our creative instincts and our mutual love of cooking.

That said, cooking unfortunately is not all about creativity after all, because of those pesky things called chemistry & physics and taste! Chemistry and Physics mostly affects baking but even regular cooking too because, if you did take some science class in school, you know the introduction of heat on anything changes, or at the very least, affects its molecular structure, which in turn results in something that maybe totally different. The simplest example – heating (by frying, baking, micro waving, etc) an almost liquid egg turns it in almost solid piece of yummy!

And yes, taste! We all have different taste buds as distinct as our fingerprints. We all have different reaction to hot, sour, spicy, bitter, etc – even same members of the same family, even individual members of twins, triplets, etc. Some people may find Colorado mountain oysters, for example,  yummy (yes, I’ve tried them myself!), but again, many people may find them yucky as well! Totally opposite reaction for the same piece of meat (being a moderator here, I won’t say what I think of them!).

And finally, as part of our creative selves, within reason, no one should say “I hate it!”, referring to a certain kind of food, without actually trying or tasting it by themselves. I say with reason, because we really cannot completely turn off our own yucky button. I mean, I still cannot bring myself to try field-mice kabob (although it is supposed to be a specialty in some parts of my native country) or cockroach chips (which I heard were kinda crispy) and supposed to be just as good and as nutritious as grasshoppers. But among fairly common ingredients (the ones that you can even find in grocery stores), like offal & sweetbreads, frog legs & snails, smoked eel & kimchi, to name a few, we should remain open-minded.

You’ll never know how wonderful they may turn out to be and become part of our exotic repertoire! Who knew that these ugly fungus only a pig would love to dig up, would be so expensive and so wonderful in certain foods. Of course, you know what I’m talking about – black or white truffle that can cost as much as $50 an ounce!

 

 

 

SERVICES OFFERED

Marta Pantry is a registered sole proprietorship in the city of New York. My small catering company has been in operation since 1989, specializing in small catering events and specialty food products like chocolate truffles and homemade cheesecakes.

I handle small catering events (no more than 50 for standing/cocktail parties; 24 for sit-down meals). I can also be a private chef to a private party and will assist in menu planning addressing the theme (if any) of the party and the budget of the host/hostess. For these types of services though, I am limited to New York City and the immediate environs.

For a quote or a discussion of my services, email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , with subject labeled “Services”. You can also email if you just wish to inquire about recipes, ingredients, etc.

Thank you.