Young woman captivates online audiences by cooking complex dishes with her feet

A young woman, born without arms, has captured online attention by posting videos of herself skillfully cooking complex dishes using only her feet.

When Emily Rowley started cooking, she preferred convenience with frozen meals and pre-cut ingredients.

Despite being born without arms and having microgastria, severe reflux, and scoliosis, the 23-year-old master’s student at Southern New Hampshire University found mixing in a bowl or pan manageable.

After moving from Oceanside, California, to Florida in 2021, Emily furthered her cooking skills, learning to chop onions, peel potatoes, and even fold wontons, all using her feet.

“I remember the first complex meal I made was some type of pasta,” Emily tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I didn’t make the pasta from scratch, but I did make the sauce homemade. It opened up a whole new world for me, cooking with fresh ingredients.”

Since then, Emily, who has been a vegetarian since high school, has shared her cooking journey on social media, gaining popularity with over 200,000 followers on TikTok and 240,000 on Instagram.

Her videos showcase her abilities, prompting viewers to rethink their assumptions about her capabilities when they meet her in person.

She values the opportunity to educate others about her life without arms through her platform.

Emily loves making crème brûlée, homemade pasta, and baking blueberry muffins and cinnamon pull-apart bread.

Initially intimidated by crème brûlée due to its complexity, she persevered and eventually became skilled at making it.

“When it comes to cooking, it can intimidate a lot of people,” Emily shared. “I was intimidated at the beginning, and you’ll make messes and mistakes, but if you keep at it, you’ll be surprised by the outcome.”

Rowley used one leg on the counter to help with cooking using her foot as a child.

Moving to Florida encouraged her to cook using both feet, which sped up meal preparation.

She adapted easily to this. Without arms, she had to find different ways to do things, starting by using her feet to pick up pencils and slowly expanding this to almost everything she does.

Emily finds cooking improvements rewarding despite ongoing challenges. Viewers may not grasp that a short video clip can entail three to four hours of effort behind the scenes.

She also cherishes sharing her dishes with her parents and appreciates their feedback on her creations.

Being born with bilateral phocomelia (the absence of both arms), Emily says doctors didn’t think she’d live long, according to Inside Edition.

Today, she’s proving a lot of doctors wrong who thought she wouldn’t be doing the things she’s doing today, whether it’s driving, going to school, or just doing everyday things.

Looking back on her childhood, Emily feels lucky that she didn’t face discrimination at school or at home.

Teachers ensured she had everything she needed without making her feel different.

Her older sister treated her equally, and her parents never favored her sibling or treated her differently due to her condition.

They consistently encouraged her to strive for excellence and embrace new challenges.

In recent years, Emily has also shared her daily life online to raise awareness about disabilities.

She saw many questions and decided to use the platform to answer them and help people learn about disabilities.

She is proud of her story and hopes it inspires others. Being herself is the best thing she can be.

Her disability has given her unique opportunities, and she wants to help make the world more open and accepting of people with disabilities.

Emily acknowledges that some days, even simple tasks can be tough, but she remains steadfast in not letting her circumstances define her.

“I embrace challenges, adapt and find creative solutions. That mindset has been crucial throughout my life,” she concluded.

Watch Emily, the young woman who was born without arms, cook one of her favorite dishes, vegetable wontons, below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Emily Rowley (@emrrowley)

Follow Emily on Instagram and TikTok to see more of her inspiring videos.