Jessica: Discovering the Fun in Cooking

  • By Jackie Sun
  • March 12, 2014

“Being able to cook allows me to make our house feel like a home.”

Jessica: Cook Smarts Hero in the Kitchen via @cooksmartsCooking comes naturally to some people, and Jessica realized that this does not apply to everybody, including herself! But that’s okay, because she is taking her food choices into her own hands by learning how to cook, and trying out new recipes and cooking techniques. Even her husband is encouraged to start cooking, and that’s what we call being proactive in the kitchen! Read Jessica’s Heroes in the Kitchen story below, and find out how everyone can be a terrific cook.

Name: Jessica
Age: 31
City, State: Columbia, South Carolina
I cook for: my husband, friends, family, and myself!
Outside of the kitchen: I am a Wedding Planner / Stylist (Jessica Rourke, Wedding Planning & Styling) & Invitation Designer (Lady Letterpress)
Being able to cook allows me to: relax at the end of a long day, feel like I am nurturing my husband, and also make our house feel like a home.
Favorite Cook Smarts meal: Chicken Breasts with Pan Sauce and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

How did you learn to cook?

My mom and grandmother are both amazing cooks, so much that I was always being spoiled by the culinary creations they prepared for me, without knowing how much time and effort goes into cooking for your family. As a young professional, I quickly realized those cooking skills hadn’t genetically been passed down. All of a sudden cooking seemed so overwhelming. A friend’s mother told me, “You might as well learn how to cook and have fun while you’re at it…you will be doing it for a long time!”

What’s been your biggest cooking challenge in the past?

Once I was married, I really began to understand what a task it was to come up with meal plans regularly. Food is so important to me, but I would find myself waiting until dinnertime to think about what to make. Going to the grocery store feels like such a task, and after a long day at work planning a meal, going to the grocery store, prepping the food and cooking was really beginning to feel like a chore.

“Not being afraid to try new recipes and techniques, and not feeling like I am wasting food has been such a blessing.”

How has your cooking routine changed recently?

Having Jess as my personal kitchen cheerleader, meal planner and grocery store list maker (the list breakdown makes shopping for groceries SO much quicker!) has totally changed my cooking routine. Taking the leg work out of deciding what to make, not being afraid to try new recipes and techniques, and not feeling like I am wasting food has been such a blessing. Nowadays, even my husband will cook a meal from time to time, and it’s so fun to see him gain culinary skills and be encouraged that he can cook!


Thanks, Jessica! It’s so important to have fun while you are cooking, and we are more than pleased to help make it easier for you in the kitchen and take the chore out of cooking. You never know what will inspire and motivate you next. Husband and wife cook-off, perhaps?

Jessica's favorite @cooksmarts meal: Chicken Breasts with Pan Sauce and Mashed Sweet PotatoesTo join Jessica and cook meals like her favorite Chicken Breasts with Pan Sauce and Mashed Sweet Potatoes, check out our meal plan service. You can get started for free!

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