Is food your love language? Here are 28 ways BA employees say “I love you.”

I’ll say it – Valentine’s Day is a culinary holiday. Sure, it’s all about tacky romance on the surface, but practically it all boils down to the food: boxes of fancy chocolates, bottles of bubbly, expensive fixed-price meals where every course is kind of red. Right next to Thanksgiving and National Pizza Day, Valentine’s Day is a culinary holiday, and that makes us an authority here at Bon Appétit.

And sure, dining out on Valentine’s Day can be tricky — given the lack of reservations and overhyped holiday menus — but showing a love of food is something BA employees are passionate about year-round. So passionate, in fact, that almost everyone on our team had a story to tell when we asked people’s favorite foods on Slack. Maybe it was cooking an intense meal for a beloved friend or romantic partner who was particularly keen on ordering takeout, or just taking time to grab a bite to eat with someone.

So, to help you get into the spirit of February 14th, we’ve compiled this list of 28 romantic and platonic food gestures from our staff (for each day of this month), from traditions to rituals to long-winded inside jokes and random ones acts of kindness. Try them on a friend, a crush, or someone you want to feel special and nourished with.

I only bring out the pasta machine on special occasions. I made my best friend a cozy bowl of cacio e pepe with fresh linguini the night before he took the LSAT and rolled out tagliatelle for the first night I ever cooked for my partner. Fresh pasta is definitely a lot of work, but it’s my favorite way of saying, “You care so much my arms are sore for days.” —Alma Avalle, Digital Production Associate My spouse’s culinary skills start and end with boiled eggs. Once, when I was ill, she told me she would cook whatever I wanted to eat. I asked for my ultimate comfort food – mashed potatoes. She Googled a recipe and brought me the most comforting, invigorating meal of my life. She even found out what a ricer was. —MacKenzie Chung Fegan, Senior Commerce EditorI am a firm believer in the culture of small treats. My boyfriend and I live close by, and when it’s nice outside, he’ll drop by in the middle of the workday for a quick snack break with some pastries — a delicate Madeleine with a golden pineapple slice in the center, or a chocolate chip cookie with a soft center — and we share it at the park nearby. As an added bonus, he’ll listen to me talk about how the pastry tastes, looks, and makes me feel during the half hour that we’re together. —Sam Stone, staff writerWhen they do the dishes or empty the dishwasher without being asked. —Kelly Janke, Director, Culinary ProductionWhen they just take care of a dinner reservation without me having to think about it or be involved. —Chris Morocco, Director of Test KitchenWhen someone orders Taco Bell for me and remembers to get me a bunch of mild sauce because it’s my absolute favorite. —Julia Duarte, artistic assistantIf the delivery person writes a nice message on the bag for you. —Hazel Zavala, Art DirectorWhen my partner makes me coffee and brings it to my bedside table. —June Kim, Vice President, Digital VideoIf you take the time to learn how to make something of my culture! The past month has been dedicated to my partner creating countless iterations of miso soup. —Jen Osaki, creative producer When we first started dating, my girlfriend and I started citing the “Gave me cookie got you cookie” scene from the show New Girl whenever someone got food. Much like the show’s Nick – who has a nervous breakdown while gifting his friend Schmidt a pastry shop – we became less and less understandable the longer the part went on. We have been told that being around makes us almost unbearable. How romantic. —AA If they allow me to eat most of the crust of the pie or leave me the bone of a ribeye or pork chop to gnaw on. —Kate Kassin, Editorial Operations AssociateFor me it’s, “Hey, I went to the bakery you like and I bought you a loaf of bread.” —Adam Moussa, Associate Director, Social VideoWhen my partner grabs me the last spring roll when there are three of us and we’ve each eaten one. —Esra Erol, Senior Social Media ManagerI like to give my plants encouraging compliments when I’m watering them. —Karen Yuan, Lifestyle Editor With a few exceptions, I don’t actually eat animal meat. My friend, on the other hand, loves a chicken sandwich or burger fresh off the grill. It’s the cutest thing ever when he forgoes meat and surprises me with a bowl of Tuscan vegetable soup from the nearby Italian market, a tofu-stuffed banh mi that we saw in half and devoured, or a homemade sheet meal of toasted pierogi and kimchi Those little files just say, girl, I might not agree with you, but I see and fully support you. Isn’t that love? —Ali Francis, Staff Writer When I’m having a very busy day, my husband surprises me by knocking on the door with lunch. And he almost always brings an open jar of Chili Crunch with a spoon in it. —Emily Farris, Senior Commerce WriterI also love being the one to squeeze the lemon wedge onto a dish. –KKMy partner and I love cracking our fortune cookies together and comparing our fortunes. – EE Airplane Meals – the meals someone prepares for you when you walk in the door from a trip. My mom does this and prepares a certain favorite dish every time we arrive (mine is chicken korma, my brother’s is apple pie). My partner also started doing this for me. —Olivia Quintana, Assistant Social Media Manager My dad used to wake up at 6am to get fresh bagels whenever friends stayed at my house. I never asked about the bagels. They were only ever on the counter when we were going down the stairs. —Zoe Denenberg, Assistant Editor Love is your overseas family rearranging your whole suitcase to fit all the homemade jams, almond cookies, chocolate wafers, sesame sticks, tea biscuits, loose teas, dried apricots, pistachios… —EEWhen my husband worked for a big tech company that got a frantic shipment of crazy new snacks every week, he would stuff things he thought I’d want in his backpack and then unveil a big presentation for me when he got home. — Kendra Vaculin, Food Editor This week I made cornbread and cut half of it into small cubes to feed the dog as a treat. And that is supreme love. —ZDWhen he pours me water, even if the carafe is closer to me. —Shilpa Uskokovic, Food EditorIt’s a small thing: My husband fills my thermos with cold water every night so I have fresh water to drink as soon as I wake up. —Vivian Jao, Recipe Editor When we have dinner parties, he always goes to the store the day before and lugs back the heavy stuff like bottles of water, soda, wine, etc. —SUWhen they are busy, my partner often just forgets to eat. It’s tough considering her friend is a food journalist. Sometimes when we’re apart, my love language just texts around noon to say, “It’s lunchtime, you’re on my mind and the world isn’t ending — you’re just hungry.” —AA Shortly after my wife-to-be and I had moved in together, I woke up one morning to an empty apartment and found this note (pictured below) that she had left. – Dan Siegel, senior director, creative development