Food is more than fuel. It’s memory, culture, emotion, and expression. Yet for many people, cooking has become mechanical, driven by shortcuts, sodium-heavy seasonings, and rigid recipes that leave little room for creativity or health.
On “A Healthy Point of View” podcast, host Sam Tejada, CEO and Founder of Liquivida®, sits down with Chef Marcus Moore, culinary creator and founder of Cook By Color, to challenge everything we think we know about flavor.
What unfolds is not just a conversation about food, but a powerful discussion on creativity, fatherhood, cultural health, and the unseen systems shaping how, and why, we eat the way we do.
Salt Is NOT Flavor — And It’s Destroying Your Health | Chef. Marcus Moore | Ep. 121
From the Kitchen Doorway to a Culinary Philosophy
Marcus Moore’s journey into food didn’t begin in culinary school. It started where many meaningful paths do, watching quietly from the sidelines.
Raised in Chicago, Marcus grew up observing his mother and grandmother cook. Like many households, the kitchen was considered a woman’s space, and he was often told to stay out of the way. But even from a distance, he paid attention. He absorbed how food came together, how flavors layered, and how cooking brought people together.
At the time, he didn’t know it, but those moments were shaping his future.
Professionally, Marcus built a successful career in advertising and creative direction, eventually becoming an executive creative director. Cooking was always a passion, but it wasn’t the plan. That changed during one of the most difficult periods of his life: a divorce.
Fatherhood, Loss, and the Birth of “Cook By Color”
As a father of three daughters, Marcus found himself rebuilding his life and routines. Cooking became more than a necessity; it became a way to stay present, connected, and purposeful as a dad.
When his daughters weren’t with him, he spent more time in the kitchen experimenting. Not following recipes, but trusting instinct. He realized something important: he wasn’t cooking by measurements or instructions. He was cooking by color.
Colors guided his decisions. One color led naturally to the next, creating harmony on the plate and balance in flavor. He wanted to teach this intuitive system to his daughters, even when he wasn’t physically there. That’s when the idea of Cook By Color was born, not as a business, but as a personal system.
Instead of pre-mixed seasonings that lock flavor into a single profile, Marcus began creating single-color seasoning blends, combining herbs, spices, and even fruits and vegetables within the same color family. The result was freedom, creative, visual, and flavorful.
Why Recipes Are Just Guides, Not Rules
One of Marcus’s boldest statements on the podcast is simple:
Recipes aren’t law, they’re suggestions.
He compares cooking to fashion. You can admire an outfit, but you wouldn’t copy it exactly. You’d add your own style. Cooking, he argues, should work the same way.
Traditional recipes often overload dishes with mismatched ingredients, creating flavors that compete rather than complement. Cooking by color simplifies everything. When colors align, flavors align. Complimentary colors create complementary taste.
This approach eliminates confusion, reduces ingredient overload, and gives people confidence in the kitchen, especially those who’ve always felt intimidated by cooking.
The Connection Between Color, Mood, and Taste
Color doesn’t just affect how food looks; it affects how it makes us feel.
Marcus explains how color influences emotion, appetite, and even energy. Just as certain room colors can calm or stimulate us, food colors trigger neurological responses that shape our eating experience.
Bright yellows and oranges stimulate appetite. Deep, rich colors create warmth and comfort. Greens signal freshness and vitality. By intentionally choosing color profiles, Marcus designs meals that evoke specific emotions and experiences.
Cooking becomes an act of storytelling, where the plate sets the mood before the first bite.
Why Salt Is Not Flavor and Never Was
One of the most eye-opening parts of the conversation centers on salt.
Marcus challenges a deeply ingrained belief: that salt equals flavor. In reality, salt is a chemical enhancer, not a flavor itself. Most foods already contain sodium, and modern diets overload it further, leading to hypertension, heart disease, and chronic illness.
His seasonings are designed to replace dependence on salt, using natural ingredients to bring out real flavor without masking it. That decision isn’t just culinary, it’s personal.
Health, Culture, and Breaking a Dangerous Cycle
Marcus speaks candidly about health disparities in Black and Latino communities. Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease are widespread, not because of genetics alone, but because of a lack of access, education, and clean food options.
Family losses and watching loved ones struggle with chronic illness reinforced his mission. Cook By Color isn’t just about taste; it’s about survival, longevity, and changing generational habits.
He also shares how his seasonings helped a close friend undergoing chemotherapy, who had lost his sense of taste. By rebalancing flavor through natural ingredients, Marcus helped him enjoy food again, without relying on excess salt or sugar.
Rethinking Meal Prep and Everyday Cooking
For anyone who’s ever quit meal prepping by Wednesday, Marcus offers a smarter approach.
Instead of seasoning food while cooking, he suggests cooking proteins and vegetables “naked” then dressing them afterward with different color-based seasonings. The same salmon can taste entirely different every day, simply by changing the color profile.
This method keeps meals exciting, reduces waste, and makes healthy eating sustainable.
There Is No Such Thing as “Taco Seasoning”
In one of the episode’s most provocative moments, Marcus dismantles a major food industry myth: There is no such thing as taco seasoning, pasta seasoning, or Italian seasoning.
Those labels exist for convenience, not creativity. They lock people into predefined flavor boxes and discourage exploration. Cooking, he insists, should be playful, expressive, and personal.
Cook By Color doesn’t tell you what to cook; it gives you the tools to cook your way.
A New Way Forward for Food and Health
Throughout the conversation, Sam Tejada connects Marcus’s philosophy back to wellness, highlighting how food systems, marketing, and convenience culture have contributed to widespread illness. Together, they underscore a simple truth:
You don’t have to choose between health and flavor.
With intention, education, and creativity, food can be both nourishing and deeply satisfying.