Hello there! My name is John and I am boomie. I am currently a third year Psychology undergrad studying at the University of California, San Diego. At UCSD, I am involved in various on campus organizations and I enjoy cooking for my friends. As a student, I have used food as a medium to connect with my peers.

I consider myself more of a baker than a chef. I find joy in the structures in cakes, the delicacy in pastries as well as the luxury in the tender crumb of cookies. I draw heavily from Giada De Laurentiis and the Italian culture in my cooking. I look to many online blogs and sources which inspire me.

How it all started…

I grew up in an Asian household in southern California with my grandparents. My grandmother loved watching Emril’s cooking shows on Food Network as he yelled BAM BAM BAM. To me, it was the only form of connection I had with her. What drew me to cooking, however, was Alton Brown’s Good Eats. At a young age of 6, I enjoyed the figures, puppets, and the sciences that he heavily alludes to. Thus, my inspiration to cook emerged.

Through my childhood I moved from school to school and between the US and Taiwan. When I finally settled back down in the states, the only thing that didn’t change in my life was the FoodNetwork. Watching cooking shows became my outlet and my life. At the time Kraft’s Foods was promoting their then-free cooking magazines. I signed up immediately and immersed myself in the ad-heavy simple recipes. Since then, I started collecting recipes of all sorts, reading about technique and learning about cuisines.

College was my turning point. Eager to make friends and socialize, I turned to the one thing people loved–food. At the time, I had no self-confidence in my technique, skill, or abilities. I hated my own cooking. It wasn’t until a years worth of praise and compliment that I realized my niche. It was then that BoOmIe’s Kitchen was born. It was then that I found my passion.

Cooking is…

To me, cooking is not an art, nor is it a science. The term “culinary arts” is deceptive to me because there is so much more going on in every dish. Through years of experimentation, failure, and eventual success, cooking has redefined itself. Cooking is not comparable to a subject in college or a another profession; instead, cooking is balance between art, science, history, engineering and culture.

My Audience…

My intended audience: Everyone. I hope that those who excel in either baking or cooking can take joy in the recipes I share. At the same time, I urge those that are new or frustrated with the tedious task to try and read through these blog posts and challenge yourself. A successful chef is not one that can create the “most delicious dish”. In fact, I don’t believe in such thing. What my grandmother deems as an overly sweet cookie could be perfect for another. I look to find inner beauty in our works of art. That inner beauty is the love we put in our food, the smile one exerts when they touch the soft dough of bread or smell the fresh basil in tomato sauce. I call to my readers to do the same: I want to share my happiness and joy with you and I ask for you to do the same.

My Sources…

Many of my recipes are tiny revisions/edits of other blogs but my goal is not to credit them as my own. Instead, I aim to spread the joy in cooking to everyone and share the success that I have had to those who might have had trouble with cooking in the past.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

I do not claim the rights to any of the brands, recipes or photos used in this site unless otherwise stated. If there is a desire to redistribute content on this site please post links that redirect to this site.