Everything in life has a learning curve. From killstreaks, to kielbasa: no one is born an expert. While talent can be innate, skills have to be cultivated, and it’s our belief that you can do anything you put your mind to. Cooking is a life skill that everyone should invest some time into. Better fuel makes you feel, and perform, significantly better. Taking into consideration the hours of grinding you give your favorite RPG, or to perfect your gaming skills, we can see that the discipline exists and simply needs experience to level up.

Like anything new, it can be challenging at times, but the rewards are delicious!

 

It’s ok, Mama still loves you.

 

The thing is, you don’t avoid playing a game because you don’t know how to play. Part of the fun is discovering how to navigate and utilize your abilities, and it should be the same in the kitchen. Akin to discovering a secret level, there is no greater joy than finally finding the trick to making your favorite dish. Not the mention, the bragging rights!

 

I too cried the first time I cooked a perfect egg, Adam. I know them feels. Mmm..eggs.

Cartoon kindly granted for use by Adam Ellis

 

But where to start? If you regularly find yourself burning toast it’s important to remember that both cooking and gaming require a similar set of skills: patience, perseverance, and paying attention to the tutorials! Our friends, a group of gamers with mad chef skills, have graciously created a few to get you on your way to becoming the next Mega chef!

 

 

 

LFG BAR

Amy Spalsbury is 30 years old Kalamazoo, Michigan native, where she founded LFG Bar. They are the first retro video game and arcade bar in Kalamazoo, and have been open a little over a year. In her free time she plays Overwatch, hangs out with her pets and husband, watches anime, sings in the shower, and writes. Gaming has been a huge part of her life since she was a child, and her goal is to continue bringing a fun place where gamers can come together as a community.

Favorite Gaming Memory: “My parents had a Sega Genesis in their room when I was a kid. I grew up on Sonic, Echo the Dolphin, etc. The game that my mom and I enjoyed playing together the most was ToeJam & Earl. Still to this day we occasionally sit down and play the game together. We still have the original copy, along with our original Sega. Actually 90% of the retro consoles in LFG are from my house that my mom kept over the years.”

 

Amy’s Bechamel Sauce for Mac and Cheese

 

Amy Spalsbury: “Cooking has a special place in my heart. I went to culinary school about 8 years ago and I’ve been cooking professionally ever since. It’s very important to learn the basics! So you can provide food for yourself and those you love! So, it makes sense for me to give a Bechamel recipe. Bechamel is one of the French mother sauces (sounds epic right?), and can be used for soups, dips, sauces, gravy, etc. Add cheese to this recipe and you’ve got a great mac n cheese sauce!”

 

 

Coaching For Geeks

Robin Bates is the self-styled overlord of Coaching for Geeks; a nerdy introvert who turned from physics and engineering to coaching, and is a regular on the UK Comic Con gaming Expo scene. Drawing on the 'teach what you know' mantra, CfG helps geeks, nerds, and introverts with confidence, careers, cosplay, cooking, and other things that don't begin with the letter 'C' but handily fall under the broad brackets of Life Skills and Geek Culture. He will lovingly call you a 'daft twatbag' before helping you get what you want from life.

Favorite Gaming Memory: My first gaming memory is of watching my dad play Elite on the BBC Micro Model B in all its wireframe glory, i would be been about 4 year old, which ages me somewhat. Favourite gaming memory may be the first time we had an apartment full of people of widely varying gaming abilities playing New Super Mario Bros Wii, screaming "BUBBLE!" and then losing because everyone went in their bubble. We always have great food on hand.

 

Robin’s Scrambled Eggs

 

Robin Bates: “Let's start simple. Scrambled eggs. People really overcomplicate eggs, this the simplest of recipes, will get you delicious, creamy, scrambled eggs cooked to your preferred consistency. Whether you like them almost liquid or solid like an omelette, we got you covered. A high protein, healthy fat start to the day that fills you up, and goes great with all the breakfast classics of toast, bacon, sausage, and of course being from the UK... baked beans”

 

 

Kinda Funny - Cooking with Greggy

Greg Miller is an online comedian and host on the YouTube comedy channel, Kinda Funny. As a former employee of IGN, Greg left the network in 2015 in order to put more focus on Kinda Funny and its newer channel, Kinda Funny Games. He currently resides in San Francisco, California. Greg was born to eat chicken wings and play video games. He does both in the name of Kinda Funny.

Favorite Gaming Memory: “Favorite game and food memory? Eating Sir Nick's pizza in Mike O'Brien's basement while we all played WWF No Mercy on N64.”

 

Greg’s Chicken Wings

 

Greg Miller: “ Chicken wings are what got me into cooking. They are my favorite food!”