The art and science of cooking

Home Culture The art and science of cooking
The art and science of cooking

When junior Aaron Sandford cooks dinner, he tries to think like a scientist.

“I like to understand the science of why brining a chicken in salt water before you cook it makes it more tender,” he said. “I like knowing what makes a dish good and then combining those concepts with other dishes.”

Sandford is an artist whose tools are more than a pot and wooden spoon. Along with cooking, Sandford is a musician and graphic designer who pursues his crafts with a curiosity: Food is a science and there are strategies of choosing typeface.

As a child, Sandford always liked drawing, cooking and music. His earliest aspiration was to be a baker, and then a car designer.

When Sandford entered Hillsdale, he came as a physics major and was hoping to go into architecture.

“I never envisioned being an art major,” he said. But after a year taking physics classes, Sandford said he realized that his interest in architecture was focused on the artistic side. Now he trains this artistic interest through design classes and hopes to go into graphic design upon graduating.

Typography, the study of type text and how one ought to use fonts, especially fascinates Sandford.

“It is amazing how much you can communicate using a typeface,” he said. “Every font has a personality. You don’t always know why, but each one can give you a different feeling.”

Sandford practices his craft in External Affairs where he designs pieces like the homecoming invitations.

Sandford’s love for cooking is no weaker. He said he always loved to bake but didn’t do much cooking in grade school. During his three years at Fairwood Bible Institute before coming

to Hillsdale, Sandford occasionally cooked, but his love — one originally inspired by his mother — blossomed two summers ago when he had his own kitchen.

“I especially discovered that I really enjoyed cooking for other people,” he said.

Junior Jonathan Slonim, a housemate of Sandford’s, said Sandford often cooks for their house, named “West Berlin” by the four men living there.

“The rest of us often do the dishes as payment for his services,” Slonim said. “West Berlin is made much more appetizing by his presence.”

Another of Sandford’s housemates, junior David Graber, said  he appreciated having a chef in the house as well.

“I would definitely put the food in West Berlin against any other off-campus house at Hillsdale,” Graber said. “His food is fabulous.”

Sandford said he especially enjoys cooking Italian food because it is easy, hearty, and delicious.

Bread is also one of his specialties.

“I have gotten addicted to having fresh bread around,” he said.

Graber said Sandford’s cooking has also inspired his housemates to cook better food, though Slonim said he prefers to clean dishes in payment for Sandford’s delicious culinary contributions.

Even in cooking, Sandford’s artistic personality shines through.

“Every time I make a dish, I critique it up and down,” he said. “I try to figure out what I could have done better.”

With his own personal critiques aside, Sandford has found a sure way to measure his work.

“I can judge how good a meal has been by how long it lasts in the refrigerator,” he said. “It is a pretty good measure of success.”