As a food enthusiast, I get asked all the time by friends, family or just about anyone else in my life, for recommendations when it comes to wooing someone special through food.

At this point, I usually give them recommendations for romantic restaurants or even a romantic dish they could cook, but this year, I and everyone else reading this ought to step up their game.

I have recently been on a mission to start cooking food that has a story or inspiration behind it. Food is a special medium in that regard; one can communicate one’s utmost feelings and passions through whatever is on the plate. Food for many people is about taking care of others, nourishing them and simply making them happy. I guarantee this dish will make that precious person in your life happy every time you make it.

There is no recipe. There is no formula. Because you will be the one to create it.

I start with a process that some chefs use to construct dishes. This was invented by three-Michelin-star chef Grant Achatz. He thinks of an ingredient to be the center of the dish, then he creates connecting bubbles filled with ingredient ideas that work in tandem with that center ingredient. The bubbles all have to connect with one another, so one ingredient has to be able to work well with all the other ones, and not just the center or maybe two others. In the end you have a web of ingredients that all go into the dish.

I have been utilizing this thought process to start creating dishes for impactful and precious people in my life.

I start with the center bubble being the name of whomever I want to focus on. I also try to write adjectives that come to mind when I think of them or other details that could go into the dish. This could include things like food memories, favorite colors or anything else noteworthy that comes to mind.

For example: my friend Stephanie would be in the center bubble. She is someone I see as classy, elegant, fiery, graceful and vibrant. These are all adjectives I would write and try to incorporate into the dish somehow. I might also write things like the color green because she goes to Cal Poly, or California because that’s where her school is. The great thing about this method is the level of creativity it allows. You can create a dish that is elaborate and fancy, or simple, modest and matching the personality or memories you have with that person.

Stephanie’s dish would then be a scallop because I see that as elegant, especially plated with the shell. I would smoke it in jasmine tea to represent the fiery adjective and because I would always order a jasmine milk tea from her when she worked at the boba store. I would also include seaweed because it goes with the ocean theme and it is green. I would create a tapioca sabayon because that is something that could elevate the dish to make it graceful and also tie back to boba tea.

This methodology is something anyone is capable of doing. You know what food your special person likes, you are the one with the fond memories, and you know how to best describe them. Get creative with something like this and have fun. In most instances, cooking dinner at home is actually cheaper than going out. There is also an added bonus about being able to cook this dish together.

If you don’t have much experience cooking with certain ingredients, I would encourage finding recipes that are similar to what you have in mind. There is nothing wrong with using those as a guide to give you a platform. If you need to find more than one recipe for multiple elements of your dish, then do so. Just remember to add something that sets the dish apart so it can truly be reflective of who you are making it for.

Cooking is a labor of love, so why not cook for the ones you love? Make them something that is one-of-a-kind and comes from the heart.