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The Daily

After Losing Her Limbs, Our Cooking Columnist Returns to the Kitchen

August 02, 2026 • 31m

Summary

⏱️ 9 min read

Overview

In this intimate and inspiring episode, Yawande Komalafe, a New York Times cooking columnist and cookbook author, shares her extraordinary journey of returning to her passion for food after nearly dying from a sickle cell crisis. After waking from a six-week coma to discover she had lost nine fingers and both legs below the knee, Komalafe discusses how food became essential to her physical and emotional recovery, and how she adapted her recipe development process to continue creating in her kitchen despite profound physical changes.

Understanding Sickle Cell Disease and Life Before Crisis

Komalafe explains her lifelong experience with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder where sickle-shaped blood cells can clog arteries and cause painful crises. Growing up with the condition, she learned to manage it through careful self-care, drinking a gallon of water daily, and pacing herself through demanding restaurant work. Despite the challenges, she never let it hold her back from pursuing her culinary passion, though she had to carefully balance intense work shifts with adequate recovery time.

  • Sickle cells are sickle-shaped rather than spherical, causing them to clog arteries and create internal pain that feels untouchable
  • Komalafe managed her disease by drinking a gallon of water daily, getting enough sleep, and pacing herself through work
  • After working long shifts, she needed three to four days to recover, sometimes being out for 10 days if she pushed too hard
  • She appeared 'normal' to others, which made it challenging to discuss her condition openly
" I never thought of sickle cell as something that would hold me back. "
" It almost feels like a pain that you can't quite touch. It's like an internal pain. "

A Typical Day as a Recipe Developer

Before her medical crisis, Komalafe's life revolved entirely around food creation. Her days involved writing recipes, visiting multiple markets to source perfect ingredients, and spending hours in the kitchen testing. Food permeated every aspect of her existence—she even dreamed about recipes and would wake up to jot down ideas from her dreams, demonstrating an extraordinary passion that went far beyond a typical job.

  • Her process involved writing recipes, sourcing ingredients from different markets by touching and feeling produce, then preparing them according to specifications
  • She would spend one to eight hours stove-side in the kitchen, sometimes working until 8 PM
  • Food consumed her thoughts constantly—she dreamed about creating recipes and would wake up to take notes
  • Her mother was a food scientist at Cadbury's who brought home experimental chocolates and worked on developing shelf-stable chocolate for Nigerian heat
" I dream about food. I dream about creating recipes. And in my excitement, sometimes I wake up and like jot that down or take notes if I remember my dreams. "

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