ROCKVILLE, MD — Alexander Sarfarazi loves to cook. He got his start at a young age helping his father around the kitchen, who used to work in the catering business. As time passed, he went from washing dishes to peeling potatoes and eventually making the meals himself. Now 24, Sarfarazi enjoys cooking for his friends and family. “I view cooking as an art form in which I can express myself creatively,” he says. Sarfarazi often scours local supermarkets to find ingredients for his next dish. This time, he made shrimp risotto using his mother’s recipe. (JOUR604/Yari Jamali)