Rohan Bhargava sees cooking as a form of love. “It’s something I acquired from my fiancé because his love language is cooking for someone else,” says the founder and artistic director of the New York City–based Rovaco Dance Company. Bhargava’s fiancé, Shivam, gets the credit for reintroducing him to a childhood favorite: besan ka cheela, savory gram (chickpea) flour pancakes. “It’s a breakfast dish I grew up eating a lot back home in New Delhi, India,” says Bhargava of cheelas, which also happen to be vegan and gluten-free. “I always thought it would require so much effort, but it’s something that’s really fast and easy to prepare.” Although cheelas are usually paired with green chutney, Bhargava also enjoys eating them with ketchup. “It’s an unpopular opinion that a lot of people look down on,” he jokes.

Kyle Marshall turns to cooking for stress relief. “I also eat a lot, so I like to make big meals,” adds the dancemaker and artistic director of Kyle Marshall Choreography. “This curry dish is something I started making as a dancer coming home and wanting something that felt really filling.”

“I have a sweet tooth, for sure,” says Dawn Atkins. The recently promoted Miami City Ballet principal searched for a snack to bring to work each day, but struggled to find something that gave her the sugar fix she was craving—and was healthy.

When Caitlin Trainor’s daughter Evangelina was a toddler, Trainor wanted to give her a treat that was nourishing and contained minimal refined sugars. After some experimentation in the kitchen, Trainor developed her cast-iron banana bread.

Growing up in Miami, Step Afrika! dancer Misha Michel often helped out in her family’s soul food restaurant, Freedom Wingz. She was in college when she first started cooking herself. “Mostly because I wanted to try new dishes and find different ways to have tasty, healthy meals,” she says.  Today, her favorite way to mix […]

One of Sarah Chisholm’s best sellers is an almond-flour pancake mix, based off of what she used to make for herself in the mornings when she was dancing.

When Boston Ballet principal John Lam was first introduced to broccoli rappi (also known as broccoli rabe or rapini) by his Italian husband, he wasn’t a fan of the bitter taste, nor the traditional preparations, which he found either too soggy or too al dente for his liking.

“As a dancer, I like to cook things that make my body feel great—foods that protect my immune system or give me energy,” says principal dancer with Riverdance, Amy-Mae Dolan.