Cooking is Sharing, and Sharing is Love and Fun

Before launching CKcurated, I became a home chef during the pandemic, cooking regularly for neighbors in our COVID bubble to stay sane. I even remodeled my kitchen to support this new-found passion, turning it into a hub for sharing meals with friends. This space of love and community inspired me to start CKcurated, where people connect over food, wine, and fun.

Wanting to give back, I began volunteering at 18 Reasons, a nonprofit in San Francisco that empowers communities through nutritious home cooking. My first assignment was at a high school in the Mission District, where I joined a team teaching young adults with special needs. We introduced them to the importance of a balanced diet — “eat veggies of every color of the rainbow” — and taught them how to make fun, healthy meals.

For the first time, I introduced myself as “Chef CK” — and I loved the sound of it! I taught knife skills, showing how to hold a knife with one hand and a carrot with “the claw” on the other, complete with a dramatic “MEOW!” sound, which never failed to make the students laugh. We prepared dishes ranging from zucchini pancakes to fruit kebabs, turkey burgers, and salads. Afterward, we shared the meals, leaving plenty of leftovers for the students to take home. We wrapped up the six-week course with a fun dance party featuring Selena Quintanilla and lots of food.

This fall, I’m excited to teach a new class in my native Cantonese to older Chinese-American community members in SF’s Chinatown. A nutritionist introduced the “My Plate” concept, demonstrating how to balance fruit, veggies, protein, grains, and dairy. I taught the class to make lotus root chicken pancakes, tofu salad, and mango salad — a new concept for many, as salads aren’t typical in traditional Cantonese cuisine. We also reviewed food safety and knife skills, which was fun since the Asian cleaver is often preferred over a chef’s knife in Cantonese kitchens. Most in the class were skilled home cooks, but they wanted to expand their repertoire and were excited to share what they learned with their families.

Sharing my love for cooking through these volunteer experiences has been incredibly rewarding and perfectly reflects the heart of CKcurated: Creating meaningful connections through shared meals and unforgettable experiences. Anyone wants to join me?