AMBIENCE

Ambience is the atmosphere of a place and the surrounding environment. It is what the activity means to me, how it makes me feel and what it reminds me of. The ambience of cooking can change a lot depending on where you are and what you're cooking for. If there are a lot of people in the kitchen, there can be a large, loud ambience with laughter, gossip, memories and fun. However, if you are cooking for yourself or without anyone around, then there can be a more chilled, relaxed and quiet ambience around the kitchen.

When I was little we would gather for big occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. Our family is very close and these times were celebrated altogether with our extended family and food. Each time we got together it would be at a different persons’ house. For example, for Christmas each year it would move around each of the Aunties houses, so every third year it would be at our house. This was always exciting as it meant going somewhere different and the atmosphere would be always be loud and exciting, but just changing up the environment would make it that little bit different and unique each year. I always love the ambience at these types of celebrations with my family, because when we all sit down to eat all the delicious food that everyone has prepared together, you look down the table and see everyone chatting away and laughing - Granddad sitting at the head of the table, with Nanny to his right, then all the other parents at one end of the table, and the younger ones at the other end. These celebrations are always something to look forward to and they are something that we will all remember and hopefully a tradition to carry out when we all have kids.

When I am cooking by myself, I find it is a time for me to feel relaxed and do whatever I want in the kitchen. It allows me to get away from the world and anything that I am thinking about – which is a lot different to the ambience of the celebrations I explained above. However, different situations, different environments and different people create a different ambience.