Recently the Italian press began to deal with and treat comfort food, the kind of food that is eaten for its soothing effect, sometimes swallowed eagerly, sometimes with serenity. The comfort food includes all foods that reassure and console in times of emotional stress: when we want to taste test, a dish that we pull up, when the mood is on the ground and we want to eat something that brings back the familiar flavors of childhood. Over time it also acquired a negative connotation, becoming the answer to a kind of rapture food (binge), which is that compulsive and uncontrollable desire to swallow food in a moment of distress. Generally, however, filled up with food ready not get a real therapeutic effect. The message of Cucinoterapia is to keep a positive spin on comfort food, turn it into Cooking therapy to get food for the soul (soul food).
Cooking with and for the Other by the soul, the heart and mind, increases self-esteem, helps to seduce, increases mental and physical intimacy; ago feel effective. It 'a useful therapy for distraction, to increase the dexterity to ward off depression, to give vent to creativity, to reintegrate, to console, to celebrate, to fraternize. Besides all this, the cooking can be really healing for those suffering from eating disorders that fall under the category of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The cooking
therapy has therapeutic value physical, cognitive, social and intra-personal. Physically
because cooking requires the use of the shoulders, hands, wrists, elbows, neck, and a good balance and a good general muscle strength (to lift, mix, cut, etc.). It 'also important sensory awareness for safety in handling hot objects, hot and sharp.
The therapist can choose the recipes that vary in strength and muscle joint applications, providing customers with the growing challenges to improve their physical ability. The cooking therapy can also teach the value of good nutrition, thus improving the overall physical health. Cooking requires, well, the solution of problems through cognitive integration. It can teach and improve the sequence, the ability to manage time, versatility, memory, attention and concentration. The sequence covers the planning, organization and understanding of how and in what order to take the necessary steps to prepare the dish. Time management is necessary to enable the completion of a task over a period of time. Versatility is important in modifying the recipes and techniques, once the basic skills were acquired. Concentration is required with increasing complexity of the recipes. The focus is important when several tasks have to be carried out almost simultaneously. Finally, memory (long-, short-term and immediate) is important to remember the sequence of steps, how to make recipes, time constraints and issues of safety, keeping in mind the end product of the activity. Cooking is able to develop expertise intrapersonal such as self-esteem and understanding of their capabilities, providing a sense of accomplishment in creating a satisfying meal. Also, cooking for others or for oneself provides the opportunity to develop social skills. Cooking with others allows an individual to broaden their social networks, family and relationships.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Creek, Jennifer. Occupational Therapy and Mental Health 2nd Edition, 1997, Churchill: New York
Esmail, Shaniff. Occth 209 Lecture Manual, 1997, University of Alberta Edmonton
Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd College Edition, 1980, Simon & Schuster: New York
Schira Roberta. Cucinoterapia - Take care, care, love yourself and others with food, 2009, Bloomsbury Publishing
