It was more than just that- he had a gift for it. He was starting a magazine/newspaper devoted to food and cooking in San Francisco when he passed away in 1994.
He and I had more than our share of serious issues between us- but I will always be the first to say that he was a masterful cook, musician and writer.
My dad's a born cook too. Don't know if you've ever run across "The Bandanna Ballads" by Miss Howard Weedon . . .
"Cookin's like religion is - some's 'lected and some ain't.
And rules don't no more mek a cook, than sermons mek a saint."
. . . I cook by rule - Dad cooks by inspiration. He has one cookbook - the 1936 edition of The Joy of Cooking. The rest is just native genius.