Cooking our emotions on a slow fire (Parcir Edicions Selectes) is a charity book written by six psychologists from the Mental Health Area of Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Manresa, of the Althaia Foundation. The authors of the book, who call themselves Sol Idàries, had the original idea of creating this informative work in 2015 with the will and commitment to contribute to the improvement of mental health.
The book combines emotions with psychology and gastronomy thanks to the collaboration of 29 of the best-known chefs on the Catalan scene such as Nandu Jubany, Carme Ruscalleda, Jordi Cruz, Ada Parellada and the Roca brothers.
“Food and cooking” was Benvingut Aligué's motto when he was proclaimed president of the Rotary Club Manresa-Bages, an organization made up of members that contributes to social, humanitarian and solidarity causes in the region.
With the idea of uniting cooking and mental health, she contacted the Althaia Foundation, where she met Antonia Raich, psychologist and current Communication Director of the organization. Raich, along with the other psychologists on the team - M. Cruz Crespo, M. Jesús Creus, Dominica Díez, Yolanda Martínez, and Rosa Tejedorlas - saw that the project they had been thinking about for so long was closer than ever to becoming a reality.
The idea of relating emotions with cooking arose at a meal between the six authors, when they realized that in their daily lives they used many culinary metaphors in the consultation, such as "turning the tables" when it is possible to change the point of view. seen in a situation, or the idea of learning to cook new recipes when you want to change something in life and it only depends on yourself to achieve it.
Since the intentions of both met perfectly, the Rotary Club and Althaia reached an agreement to publish the book and present it at a solidarity dinner where gastronomy and emotions came together at the Busquet Tower in Manresa, with a menu designed by Nandu Jubany and its events team, and live music by Salva Racero, from the musical group Lax'n'Busto.
The psychological prologue, by Doctor of Psychology Joaquim Soler Ribaudi, expresses that “psychology is in everything, although not everything is psychology.” That is, “psychology is present in what and how we cook, and emotions can change what we cook, from complex, innovative and daring dishes when we are happy, to simple pre-cooked dishes when we are stressed.”
On the other hand, the culinary prologue written by Ferran Adrià states that “eating well feeds the soul.” The chef highlights the importance of cooking with love, not only food but our relationships in all areas. Along the same lines, psychologist Yolanda Martínez - one of the co-authors - summarizes that "taking care of emotions and taking care of diet are ways to ensure health."
Although the idea for the book arose in the consultation, the authors' intention is not to use it in therapy with patients, but rather to use it for anyone, from adolescence onwards. It is a book "that can help us all reflect, talking about the useful part of emotions, which are not always positive, but have a meaning," comments the psychologist.
Nandu Jubany, whose chapter in the book talks about joy, is a clear example of how mental health can affect anyone. He himself suffered from depression in which he went from "always seeing the glass half full to seeing it half empty," he says. For the chef, what makes him happy is "living every day, getting excited about things, having friends, living up to the family and having people leave the restaurant satisfied."
For Jubany, the basic relationship between emotions and gastronomy is that "chefs have to be able to move people by cooking." If he has decided to participate so actively in the initiative, both in the book and in the presentation dinner, it is because he is very grateful to have what he considers "the best job in the world" and to be able to collaborate "in such a project." important and with so much feeling.
Cuinant les nostres emociones a foc lent is structured as a menu, with 23 chapters distributed in “appetizer”, “starters”, “main courses” and “desserts”. It also has a final section with a biography of the authors and the professional career of the chefs who have participated, which visualizes the evolution of Catalan cuisine and shows that the gastronomy sector is very collaborative, since many They have learned from each other.
Each chapter is made up of a story, a reflection and a recipe that revolve around an emotion. For Martínez, the detail with which the book is endowed is what makes it more special, “with a lot of indirect psychology and surprises that are better discovered after the second reading.” This very particular way of uniting concepts is reflected in the relationship between the emotion of each chapter with the story, its explanation and the dish chosen by the cooks.
In the chapter on anger, for example, the Roca brothers present their recipe for escudella i carn d'olla which, like the emotion in question, “if it is very hot it makes us burn.” The same thing happens with Ada Parellada and her cod fritters, a fish that “hides inside the dough because it is ashamed,” but whose flavor “is evident and very protagonist.”
Each recipe, likewise, is accompanied by a short reflection from the chef that is usually related to everything that has been discussed in the chapter. The Roca brothers, continuing with the example, say that “an aroma, a flavor, an image, a note, and even the fragment of a hand on our skin, can be a journey through time. A journey of emotions.”
As the authors themselves state, this is not a cookbook as such, nor is it a self-help book, although it includes delicious recipes from internationally renowned chefs and information that can be useful for understanding our emotions. Their intention is to share their knowledge and experience after so many years as clinical psychologists in an understanding, entertaining and original way.
The book has been financed by collaborators who, altruistically, have sponsored it. In this way, all the benefits obtained from now on will be fully allocated to the patronage of Althaia with the aim of obtaining funds for research and care in the area of Mental Health, as well as launching support programs that facilitate recovery of the life project for people with mental health problems and avoiding relapses.
As the Sol Idàries summarize it, this is “a book made from the heart to feed the body and soul,” because “mental health is everyone's business.”
The Row 0 Donation is still open through the number ES57 0182 8618 9002 0017 4979 and can also be made at this link. The book Cuinant les nostres emociones a foc lent can be purchased for €29 at different physical points of sale and on the Internet.
