Here s our verdict on a new cookbook that explores how women in the food industry feel about cooking. By Ella Walker. The world of food can be a fraught place of discrimination, bad pay, and uncomfortable working hours and environments, but it is also a place of vision, incredible creativity, joy and, of course, dinner. Author and illustrator Lindsay Gardner s new book, Why We Cook, takes these ideas and contradictions and asks female chefs, cooks and food writers for their thoughts and feelings around the time they spend in the kitchen. Here s what you need to know. The book: Why We Cook: Women On Food, Identity, And Connection by Lindsay Gardner.