Home Cooked Meals Feed the Soul

“I was afraid of not being able to make this new place feel like a real home, a place where I belonged.”

I chose this quote to depict my mural… One thing that we can all take with us to make us feel at home in a new place, are the flavors and recipes from where we grew up.

My girlfriend, who is from Puerto Rico, helped me come to this mural idea after asking her “what helps you make this place feel like home”, she immediately said cooking her traditional Puerto Rican dishes like tostones, mofongo, alcapurria, empanadas, ect. and being able to taste/share the flavors from her childhood.

This got me thinking that some of the best meals/restaurants I have tried around Massachusetts are from the folks who have migrated from outside the US and brought their recipes from the place they originally called home. The authenticity and flavors are what sets these dishes/spots apart from the rest and the love from the local community backs these folks so much, showing that food, whether that be sharing with friends or working in/operating a restaurant can in fact make a person’s place of residence give them a sense of pride and belonging to their new community making it feel like home.

To sum it up, cooking food that is close to your heart and the nostalgia of eating a meal that brings you back to where you are from, can help a foreign place feel like home no matter how far away.