If you're a good cook...what person or experience inspired you?
My grandparents inspired me a LOT and probably gave me the impetus to further my culinary inquisitiveness but I have to say...the 'hallmark' of my cooking happened when my mother insisted that my sister and I choose to do either laundry or all the cooking and I chose the cooking (my baby sis had no chance in hell choosing cooking). I learned a LOT by trial and error in those days. :)
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10 Comments:
I married at a very young age. Prior to that I did the usual teen-age cooking (: Having very little money (but alot of motivation), I taught myself. Have never been a good cook (by my standards) & would like to take professional classes eventually. Now I am having fun sharing some basic recipes & techniques with my grandchildren.
JEP at 5:41PM on 08/12/07
I believe I was told I come from a long line of historically snobbish epicureans. I had to believe it.
JerzeeTomato at 5:58PM on 08/12/07
Jep, I hear ya! I totally understand what you mean and believe me...making welfare peanut butter into 'gourmet' fare was a challenge to be for sure.
JerzeeTomato, lucky you...I wish I'd grown up with a bit more culinary know-how...rather than the usual home-cookin' fare (nothing wrong with that but it gets rather staid).
Meanwhile...even though my 'come-uppins' are very low-brow...I cherish those memories and the inspiration they gave me. :)
-Cheffy =0)
cheffy at 7:23PM on 08/12/07
Having found a passion for cooking while young, I had an opportunity to practice the craft during college. I used to have once-a-week dinner parties where everyone had to bring some of the ingredients. I would coordinate everything, assigning ingredients and quantities so that everything would work out to cost about the same for everyone.
On the scheduled nights, 10-12 ladies and gentlemen would come over to my apartment, squeeze around the kitchen and watch me prepare the meal -- all while enjoying cheap wine and good company. It was like a one-man Iron Chef :-) Good memories...
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 8:06PM on 08/12/07
RE: Dommy (Dominic, hope ha don't mind me calling you that)...
-What a 'FUNderful' story you shared... I love the "Oneman Iron Chef" you referenced...sooo true! I love it!
I grew up so 'po-dunk' when it came to cooking...I mean...fresh peas, potatoes and cream were par for the course...so basic and my Gran NEVER salted anything...drove me NUTS! :))
cheffy at 8:39PM on 08/12/07
This sounds strange, but I began to seriously cook when I became a vegetarian. Nobody else was going to feed me, so I had to figure out how to do it myself. I'm still cooking sans meat and I've improved exponentially. I now often cook for the omnivores in my household, and they happily eat my meatless creations. :)
logographic at 12:09AM on 08/13/07
I was inspired by my mother...because she is a terrible cook. She and my dad married very young, so cooking has always been a chore for her, not something to do for fun. And she's the pickiest eater on the planet. So in college, I picked up a few cookbooks and just went at it, and have improved vastly in the past ten years! She is very proud and says that she's lucky to have had two kids who are so willing to eat and cook anything...we definitely didn't get it from her!
lo82070 at 10:38AM on 08/13/07
I was incredibly lucky to be born into a family that truly respected food as more than just fuel. Celebrations, happiness, sadness, mourning - all were amplified or comforted by the appropriate food. My mother cooked, my dad cooks and so does my brother. I was definitely inspired by my family - immediate and extended - to become a very avid cook and baker.
chiff0nade at 11:32AM on 08/13/07
What wonderful comments! I agree with many of you on so many levels. I think first and foremost food on the most very basic level is comfort, then comes cuisine, then comes gourmet...but it always harkens back to comfort in times of trouble or grief for sure.
Cheffy =0)
cheffy at 12:20PM on 08/13/07
My sister was involved with an awesome chef for a couple of years and his cooking and attitude about food inspired to learn more. They parted ways a very long time ago but I still think about him whenever I blanch vegetables or make a roux, or mix up a vinaigrette.
pgoat at 2:18PM on 08/13/07