It’s really that simple. But how can you love something you might not understand? Or worse, something you fear?

In our culture, cooking has become a paradox. 

We are obsessed with watching people cook. We feel inspired by the excitement and beauty of cooking. But when it’s time to eat, we bypass our own kitchen and go to someone else’s. At Hot Wok Academy, we say it’s time to get back into our own kitchen and cook.

But where do we start? Cooking, especially on television, looks scary. Who wants to get yelled at for doing something wrong? Or, maybe we don’t have time for cooking. Who has time for planning, shopping, cleanup, and dishes?

It might be helpful for us to ask, “What is cooking?”

Cooking is not a competition. It’s not a test. It’s not a show. Cooking is not a time to be scolded, mocked, or belittled. Nor is it a waste of time, energy, or resources.

Cooking is the process of transforming ingredients into food through various applications of air, water, salt, acid, time, pressure, and temperature. But it’s also more than that, isn’t it?

Cooking is the act of caring for yourself and others through the creation of tangible nourishment. Cooking should make you feel happy, not scared. Welcome, not intimidated. Adventurous, not hopeless.

Cooking is the happy convergence of care & action, invention & refinement, innovation & tradition, familiarity & exploration, indulgence & nourishment, comfort & discovery.

The kitchen has room for everyone. Cooking is for us all.

We believe that cooking helps the world flourish.

When we cook, we are making time to do something distinctly human – and incredibly important. Cooking produces food, and food nourishes our bodies and brings us together. What does the world need more than nourishment & community?

If you can boil water, you can cook. If you can read a thermometer, you can cook. The world needs great chefs. But more than that, we need good cooks.

So go ahead. Burn it. Over-salt it. Boil it over. Toss it too high.

There’s nothing wrong with doing it wrong. In fact, we learn how to cook by understanding how we did it wrong. At Hot Wok Academy, we envision a world where people love to cook. A world where our first impulse is to cook for others, instead of hoping others will cook for us.

If you want to learn how to cook, Hot Wok Academy is here for you.