Louisa Edwards

As a fan of WTF!? I watched with interest as the controversy over Spencer Walker’s Cook to Bang guest blog post boiled over.  In case you missed it, he sparked a controversy with his cookbook—Cook to Bang:  The Lay Cook’s Guide to Getting Laid—aimed at teaching men how to seduce women with food.

Whatever your take on Cook to Bang, I think Mr. Walker is getting at something true—there’s a very real connection between matters of the table and matters of the heart.

Food is necessary.  To sustain life, to nourish our bodies, to give us energy.  But it’s also one of life’s great pleasures, a daily chance to indulge ourselves and our desires.  And for the person in the kitchen, every meal is an opportunity to show those gathered around the table that they’re loved.

Preparing good food from scratch takes time and care, two precious commodities that are increasingly rare in our busy lives.  That kind of cooking sends a message:  You matter to me.  I want to make you happy.

In that sense, it hardly matters what you cook; any dish you take the trouble to prepare with your own hands can be read as a love letter.  But of all the senses, taste can provoke the strongest emotions and the most vivid memories—so why not harness those qualities to make your intentions even more clear?

Just One Taste, my third Recipe for Love novel, features a con-artist-turned-chef named Wes Murphy who snags the attention of the woman of his dreams by presenting her with a fascinating research topic:  culinary aphrodisiacs.  This works because his heroine is Dr. Rosemary Wilkins, a food chemistry genius who’s more comfortable alone in her lab than interacting with others.  But once Wes seduces her into a hands-on experiment with chocolate-covered strawberries, they discover a different sort of chemistry together . . . and a bond strong enough to withstand secrets, betrayals, and the frenetic chaos of working at an upscale Manhattan restaurant.

Cooking for someone isn’t always about sex (although sometimes it is!)  It’s about intimacy—using your intimate knowledge of your beloved’s likes, dislikes, childhood favorites, and time-honored comfort foods, to nourish the spirit as well as the body.  It’s about making a connection.

It’s about love.

Culinary romance author Louisa Edwards writes the Recipe for Love novels, which include Can’t Stand the Heat and On the Steamy Side.  Her latest, Just One Taste (St. Martin’s Paperbacks, September 2010), is in stores now. Order your copy here! Edwards lives and writes in Austin, Texas.

A signature set of Recipe for Love culinary swag (for a night of cooking together).

So share your take on the food-love connection.  Louisa will send an autographed copy of her new novel (and some Recipe for Love culinary swag) to one lucky person.

Sep 27, 2010

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