Learning how to cook again

Cooking columnist Yewande Komolafe has been writing recipes for The New York Times since 2018. Her impressive career spans 20 years, working in restaurants and test kitchens, developing recipes, and writing cookbooks. Two years ago that career and her very life was in jeopardy as Yewanade lay comatose in a hospital bed after a severe episode related to sickle cell anemia. Yewande wrote about her experience and how she had to learn how to cook all over again after losing her limbs.

After being in a coma for six weeks, she received the shocking news that she would have to have her fingers and lower legs amputated. She remained in the hospital for several more months, recovering from several surgeries and learning how to navigate the world in a wheelchair and with prosthetic hands. Although this journey was long and difficult, Yewande always knew she would be back in her kitchen. As soon as she could eat solid foods she was strategizing her meals using a tablet that her husband affixed to her bedside. Her meals, she said, “went from lackluster hospital food to carefully curated lunches and dinners with family and friends who visited.”

When she returned home months later, she went back to work developing recipes, this time having to use assistants to help her prepare the food. While this adaptation has been challenging, Yewande is thankful she has retained her sense of taste and smell, her culinary knowledge, and her “ability to eye when a dish is cooked just right.” Her story is an inspiring tale of courage, resilience, and strength.