Before he lost his arm, this chef loved life and food. Now? He still does.
Chef Eduardo Garcia combines his passion for food and his taste for adventure.
Eduardo's a chef. But he doesn't spend all his time in the kitchen — no way.
He takes off each day from his Montana home to explore the wilderness and gather all the fresh, wild ingredients he wants to use in his next meal.
Eduardo gathers food to use in his next tasty meal. All images by Saucony.
For many years, he was always on the go, working on boats as a private chef. Every chance he got, he was off to explore, soaking up as much of the local culture as he possible could. His way of getting to know each new locale? The food.
Food, he says, is his “language to connect with other people."
Take a look at how he does that, here:
Side note: Wowww, did you see those dishes he's making? Needless to say, they look amazing.
But as Eduardo describes in the video, cooking isn't the only thing that keeps him ticking.
'Cause he's not just a chef, he's also a runner and an explorer.
"Running is part of my recipe, it's part of my equation," Eduardo explains. "You pick up this rhythmic cadence of your heart, in tune with your ... spirit and your soul." Running, he says, is his way of staying connected to the outdoors.
And in turn, that relationship with nature is what inspires his culinary creations — what's in season? What can he forage today? Gathering wild, fresh ingredients is his favorite part of cooking. Well, second to sharing his delicious food with friends.
“Every day," he says, "is like another opportunity to push a little harder and to figure out how to milk more out of my life. Daily."
"To run is to keep me in the outdoors," he says.
In 2011, Eduardo lost an arm as a result of a backcountry accident.
But despite having his hook-handed prosthetic for only a few years, it certainly doesn't hold him back.
In fact, he prefers the hook to the five-fingered prosthetic he wore for a few months. "When you're cooking ... it's a dance almost," he told Katie Couric in an interview. "When I had the hand, I just didn't feel fluid, whereas with the hook ... I just rock and roll again."
Eduardo talkin' about life.
When Eduardo was first learning to use the prosthetic, he said, “It's definitely been an exploration. … It's OK to screw up, it's OK to not get it right, it's OK to not be as efficient as you were. You'll get it, you'll get it, you'll get it."
“Food and meals should enrich our lives, not just our bodies."
Eduardo's passion for exploring and foraging is one that he simply can't keep to himself. He loves to spark up conversations with friends, teach them about foraging, and share his energy with others.
Safe to say, his enthusiasm is infectious.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."