What Is Chaos Cooking And What Does It Look Like In Home Kitchens?

Chaos cooking is a term that came into the mainstream during fall 2022 when the movement was first reported, and ever since then, the fascination has been growing. The idea, in a nutshell, is about throwing ingredients together that don't traditionally belong in the pursuit of something delicious. Cheeseburger eggrolls or fried chicken burritos, anyone? The concept has left some people scratching their heads. What makes chaos cooking different from fusion cuisine? 

It turns out that concept of fusion cuisine might have been a bit shortsighted. The idea originated in the 1980s with chefs like Wolfgang Puck wanting to explore combining food cultures. The trouble is that even pairing mismatched food cultures together like Japanese-Mexican food still left chefs feeling constrained. Not only that, but at this point, fusion cuisine has become the status quo. When Roy Choi first opened Kogi Truck back in 2008, the idea of Korean-Mexican food was something that felt completely original, but now it's become more mainstream. Nowadays, chefs may be more interested in being culinary disruptors as opposed to visionaries. When sushi burritos are as common as hamburgers, what's left to do except to throw out the rulebook completely? 

With chaos cooking, almost anything goes, and it's more about ingredients and less about food cultures and traditions. Not only are chefs fusing different ideas, but they're also thumbing their noses at any culinary convention. So what does this mean for those of us cooking at home?

The idea of chaos cooking is pretty freeing when you think about it. As long as you're confident with cooking techniques and how to prepare fresh ingredients, you can essentially treat the kitchen as your own personal blank canvas. Chaos cooking is even a plot point in the upcoming season of The Bear, so will this style of cooking begin to penetrate home kitchens and recipe culture even more than it already has?

Bringing chaos cooking into the kitchen is about creativity and combining flavors you love. And the more popular this ideology becomes, the more confident you can feel trying new things. No longer do you have to worry that someone might turn their nose up at your original creation. Maybe you've always wanted to add fried chicken to a Mexican-style rice bowl. Maybe you've always wanted to add kimchi and chili to your baked potato recipe. Before, someone might look at you like you were strange for wanting to make a mortadella and peanut butter sandwich, but now it's hip to be quirky with food. And when you think about it, how many foods do you love that must have been oddball recipes when they were originally introduced? Before barbecue chicken pizza was mainstream, pizzas were most often covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella. Any food idea that makes you smile is a food idea to be embraced.