coming home again

What is the importance of food in this essay?
In the essay “Coming Home Again” the importance of food in this man’s life is the fact that it reminds him of his mother and the family life he was so fond of. Food is a way to keep his mothers memories from disappearing. It also reminds him of when he was young and the value his mother has taught him in preparing meals.
His fondest memories were of his mother cooking in the kitchen. Cooking up great meals with aromatic smells filling the house. Food was definitely an important part of their lives and this can be seen throughout the entire essay. He cherishes the memories of his mother in the kitchen preparing meals. He goes in great detail of his mother as she puts a meal together. This is so important that he decided to take on the role of the cook in the house. After she becomes sick, he takes on this role and has only memories of her laying ingredients out and the aromas of them to try and duplicate her recipes, something his mother never wrote down.
Every once in a while before she had passed, his mother would try to help him in the only way she could. She would come into the kitchen and sit down and ask him what he is doing. Then she would show him everything he was doing wrong and tell him the right way. His memory of his mother doing this is something that he cherishes and hates at the same time.
The story shows that even after her death, his desire to cook meals continued. He would try and cook a meal as his mother did for his father. But it never turned out the same, she was truly the cook and he knew it. But it did keep her memory alive and I believe that is truly what he wanted.