Welcome

Let's Start at the Very Beginning... a Very Good Place to Start

What should I say about growing up as a child in middle America in the 70’s? Bell bottoms, riding in the back of trucks, no seat belts, and a lot of folk music? Yes that was part of it. The other part was my grandma's huge garden. My brother and I used to sneak the coveted yellow raspberries (only two of those plants), because they were absolutely off limits. Eating raw rhubarb, sour leaves (sorrel), and sweet cherries from what I thought was the biggest cherry tree ever. My grandpa would sit in the back yard grilling cured pork belly on a skewer, intently paying attention so as not to lose any of the fat (that was meant for the crusty bread that he held contently in his hand) in the fire. Hurka, kolbasz, paprikas, kalach, rhubarb bread, rhubarb pie, rhubarb sauce, (so much rhubarb)… currant jelly, black berry jelly, pickling cucumbers, and who knows what else was in that canning cellar. Many memories were made playing bumper pool on the table that was forever stuck in the basement of the tiny house that my grandparents raised 6 children in, and then had July 4th parties with all 17 cousins (at the time, more as we got older). Eating so much watermelon…

People ask where I got the passion to cook. Don’t get me wrong, there was no lack of cooking and food in my childhood, but I don’t think that it was the food that got me into the business. I think it was more about the people I worked with when I got hired at my first cooking job. That is where I got hooked. We were a team, comrades in arms. There is nothing like the family of the restaurant world. The rare situation that does not take into account race, religion, ethnic origin, or gender. Can you cook? As Anthony Bourdain would say, “Do you have moves?”, because if you can play the game it does not matter what or who you are.

I am still a child in this industry, and I have been playing the game for over 30 years. I find new ideas for dishes in the youngest of cooks and the oldest of veterans. That is the best part about all of this, we are always learning.

So what is this blog going to be? Just information? Rants? Something to fill my time? I would say that it is all of the above. I will definitely be putting recipes up on here. They will be the whims of a cook who has more time than he knows what do do with because of COVID-19. There will also be rants. I think that this should also act as my venting point (yes, free therapy). And as for my time, we shall see how much this fills (I’m hoping a lot). Stay tuned.