My love of cooking started as a child back in England, helping my mother out in the kitchen. She was actually a self-taught baker and cook, and although she often didn’t understand the reasons or the science behind what she did, she actually became pretty good!
I have many fond food memories and favorite recipes from my childhood. My friends always loved to come over to my house after school, as there were always two or three types of homemade cake or cookie in the pantry. We would sit and watch our favorite TV shows while devouring them.
I have many fond food memories and favorite recipes from my childhood. My friends always loved to come over to my house after school, as there were always two or three types of homemade cake or cookie in the pantry. We would sit and watch our favorite TV shows while devouring them.
My cooking education continued in middle and high school where I took lessons for a few years. During this time I developed a terrible addiction – for cookbooks! I attended college in London
My addiction continues today; in fact a few years ago we had to buy new bookshelves in our breakfast nook to house my ever-growing collection! At the last count my collection numbered around 240. So many cookbooks, so little time! I was reading a magazine one day (many years ago now), and taking a quiz titled “Are you a Foodie?” One of the questions was “Do you take cookbooks to bed and read them at night like novels?” This was when I realized I really was a foodie!
My addiction continues today; in fact a few years ago we had to buy new bookshelves in our breakfast nook to house my ever-growing collection! At the last count my collection numbered around 240. So many cookbooks, so little time! I was reading a magazine one day (many years ago now), and taking a quiz titled “Are you a Foodie?” One of the questions was “Do you take cookbooks to bed and read them at night like novels?” This was when I realized I really was a foodie!
In 2003 I gave in to my passion and went back to school full-time to study culinary arts and nutrition. This was a great experience – one which included cooking and serving meals to the public in the college training restaurant.
Since then I have worked at Williams-Sonoma, both on the shop floor and teaching classes. For those of you that have been inside a Williams-Sonoma store, you know that it is a foodie’s paradise. The only downside was that it probably cost me money to work there, as I’m sure I spent more than I earned! I worked with some wonderful people however, and it was fun to talk about food and kitchen tools all day long!
I also have my own personal chef business. Mostly I go to people’s homes and prepare meals to go in their freezers, but I also cook for small dinner parties, and recently I’ve branched out into event planning.
But mostly I just love food – everything about it! I love to try out new recipes, find ways to make them healthier (sometimes!), learn new techniques, find new food products, new restaurants, new cookbooks even! I hope you enjoy and even learn a little something while visiting my blog.
