Why Recipes?

Why does LatrLab have a recipes section? It might seem out of place on a site devoted to designing the future of learning. However, in most collaborative work sites individuals find opportunities to share a meal and meals are often provided.

Shared meals provide an opportunity for informal socializing and exchanges of views and ideas, and the opportunity to share a meal may be an important element for creating the conditions for collaboration (Baldwin, R. and Chang, D. 2007. Collaborating to learn: Learning to collaborate. Peer Review, 9(4), 26-30). Sharing meals at lunch time can also serve to make individuals feel more welcome.

Of course, there is also evidence that some foods support creativity (Lewis, M. 2016. 10 Foods to boost creativity, brain power, UWire Text, August 30th) and deep thinking (Colzato, L., de Haan, A. and Hommel, B. 2015. Food for creativity: Tyrosine promotes deep thinking. Psychological Research, 79, pp,. 709-714) so including those foods in work place meals may carry more than social benefits.

But why the recipes? Well, LatrLab is a virtual work site and although sharing a meal is not possible, sharing the directions for a meal is the next best thing. Many of us cook for people we care about, for people we want to welcome, for those we want to feel included. The recipes on LatrLab are based on meals I have cooked with LatrLab participants in mind. I cooked them for you. I hope you enjoy them even if you have to cook them for yourself!