This site is designed for neurodivergent people, though everyone can benefit. Neurodivergent people are people who live with one or more cognitive disabilities that affect how they perceive and interact with people and the world. These disabilities include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette’s syndrome, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), among other disabilities. (I am autistic and have OCD.) Neurodivergent people have brains that are significantly different from “normal” brains. This affects many things in day-to-day life, including cooking.
Not a lot of resources exist for neurodivergent adults who want to cook. A few have come out, but there are not enough. This is the spur for this site. I recommend more resources on my other website, Flavors of Diaspora. Highlights include:
- Color, Taste, Texture by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt (an autistic chef)
- Good Enough by Leanne Brown
- Cook As You Are by Ruby Tandoh
- Staples+5 by Tanorria Askew
- The Facebook groups Neurodivergent Cooking Crew and Autism Meals
And who am I? My name is Jonathan. I’m an autistic man with OCD who lives in the Washington DC area with my lovely partner, David. I am a civil servant. I have loved cooking and food from an early age – my mother started to teach me how to cook when I was a small child. Other neurodivergent folks have asked me for help over the years with cooking, and I noticed that many folks needed help with safety specifically. Hence, this site.
This site is a passion project and I did this on my own time. If you have any questions, feedback, or ideas to improve it, feel free to email me. Unless indicated, all icons were sourced or adapted from The Noun Project.
A big thank you to David Ouziel (my partner – I love you!), Michael David Faccini, Mikaela Brown, Jay Stanton, and Kate Herzlin for providing crucial input for this site.
Safe and Neurospicy 