Cooking Styles

I am an aficionado
Of home style cooking,
And it intrigues me
Watching great cooks at work.
Each one has
His or her own unique
Method of cooking.
There are the recipe
And cookbook collectors.
They can cook
Just about anything
As long as
They have a recipe.
They are good
At following instructions,
But are almost helpless
Without a guide.
Then there are
The more inventive types
Who don’t hold to
Any particular recipe,
But seem to
Know instinctively
Which combinations
Work together to tantalize
The taste buds.
They will add
A bit of this,
And a smidgen of that,
Knowing precisely
How each ingredient
Will enhance
A dish’s taste.
If you ask them
For the recipe,
They would likely
Be at a loss
To tell you
Exactly what they used.
There are cooks
Who must taste
Every single dish,
And others
Who never sample
A single entrée,
Yet the food
Turns out great
Either way.
The latter tend to be
Skinnier than the first.
There are those
Who pester the food,
Checking to see
How each dish is doing
Numerous times
During the course of cooking.
Others rely on
Precise time
And temperature.
Still others
Cook by sense of smell.
Some cook’s noses
Are so well trained
That they can
Smell the ingredients,
And tell you
If anything is missing.
Regardless of which
Style they incorporate,
The meal they fix
Is bound to be
A culinary masterpiece.