food
Love
By CoUrTney PHilliPS
A ReCIPe FoR
Two Fayetteville couples
connect in the kitchen
Photography by Anna Lester
Indy and Mandy Wilkinson
Christopher and Mia Delph
Indy and Mandy
6:00 p.m. finds Indy and Mandy Wilkinson weary. Indy, a
staff anesthesiologist at Womack Army Medical Center and
Mandy, a stay-at-home mother of two-year old Grace Savannah and newborn baby Faith Charlotte, have been awake
since, respectively, 5:00 a.m. and, well, it depends if baby
Faith allowed Mandy to sleep at all.
Despite chaos and sleep deprivation, they speak as passionately about a home-cooked meal as "foodies" who have
much more time for contemplation and preparation.
When asked individually their motivation to cook 5-6
nights per week, their answers differ, but the result is the
same: A closer bond with each other.
Indy is a food lover and has been cooking since college,
when his mom, afraid he'd starve if left to his own devices,
enrolled him in cooking classes. Now, cooking has become
more of a hobby than ensuring sustenance, and it serves as
an excellent stress reliever after a long day in a high-stakes
job.
For Mandy, cooking is about bringing happiness and
comfort to others, so it's no surprise that even with a newborn and a two-year-old, they entertain dinner guests at
least once per week.
Dishes featured in the Wilkinson home vary by season.
With an impressive outdoor kitchen, the grill is generally
in use if weather permits for steaks, burgers or sausage.
By MiriaM landrU
In colder months, they look to hearty dishes, from bouillabaisse to chicken and dumplings, the latter of which is a
favorite of Indy, a native Tennessean.
They speak lovingly of their time spent together in the
kitchen, which is a relatively new experience for Mandy,
who only began cooking after they got married.
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