Gigi Casero blossomed out of a young woman’s passion for making delicious meals and treats from scratch. It all started in high school, when I started baking to satisfy my sweet tooth instead of completing mounds of homework. I jokingly called this late night habit ‘procrastibaking.’ In college, I started cooking to save money and eat healthier, as all the dining hall food had me missing homemade meals. I practically became a vegetarian during those college years because I was terrified of poisoning myself with improperly cooked meat.
But my passion really started when I moved down to Texas for my first job. For the first time in my life I had an entire kitchen to myself and more than a college kid’s budget for food. I started trying new recipes and learning techniques. I found inspiration from restaurants, Instagram, and friend’s houses, returning home from a delicious meal and trying to recreate the recipe.
I find joy in the kitchen, cooking for loved ones. Creating dishes from scratch is therapeutic for me, and allows me to exercise my creative side. However, lately everyone I meet says they hate cooking, or they’re terrible at it. That’s what ignited the idea for Gigi Casero. I want to foster a love of cooking in people. It makes me sad when people say they hate cooking, or that they’re terrible at it. As though a lack of skill were a death sentence, a destiny of takeout and lackluster meals. Of course, not everyone will learn to love cooking. But I’m convinced that a great deal of people who wear “I hate cooking” as a badge of honour simply haven’t found the right recipes.
But I’m convinced that a great deal of people who wear “I hate cooking” as a badge of honour simply haven’t found the right recipes.
I want you to give cooking another chance. Food is fuel, and the importance of that can’t be overstated. We need to nourish our bodies. But food is so much more than that, too. It’s culture. It’s comfort. It’s community. Food brings people together. So grab your spatula, and let’s make something yummy together.
