Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Cooking

Interested as a wee lad in knowing how to cook, mother, aunt and grandmother got me started. In school my cousin and I asked to go to the home ec class to learn even more cooking skills. The principal would not allow it (you also had to sew in home ec) we said wouldn't hurt us.

But no go, finally they created an "institutional cooking for boys" class. They had to add more classes because of all the boys enrolling.

I started outside on my round charcoal grill.....it wasn't even a Weber...just a Kmart special. I switched jobs to one that involved extensive travel and ate in restaurants 3 times a day for 5-6 days a week. I started to crave the simple MN hot dish my mom used to make so I started with that. It is also a way i can relax and not have to think about other "stuff"

My parents were both Italian speaking zero to little English until 3rd or 4th grade. Need I say more?

This is a very good thread!!!

My story matches many others. Always loved to be in the kitchen with mom and both grandmothers, or out at the grill with the "men".

Omelets, hash browns, sausage/bacon by seven, five course Chinese by twelve, burgers, steaks, chicken by high school.

Okie and Texas grandmothers sure could feed a household!

Combine all that and a love for cooking shows. Julia, Yan, Frugal Gourmet Jeff Smith ( later, frugal fondler ), anything PBS had on.

An employers friend once asked me why I was mechanic and not a chef. Told him I used to like working on cars, I still liked to cook.

My very first job was cracking eggs for a mom and pop pasta shop.

Id go in and crack 210 dozen eggs, wash dishes, and do the floors. A bit later on I got to run the pasta machines making different noodles and stuffed pastas. Making sauces, fillings, sausages, etc...

It was a great job with great people.

I figure about the only thing that might be "fun" would be a food truck and just do lunches. Prep work, mad rush for ~ 1 1/2 hours then clean up.

I'm thinking a you tube cooking channel would be more my pace.

I spent the better part of my adult life owning and/or managing restaurants.
Good times, but hard work. After selling the last one, there is no way I'd go back to that life.
Did help my Son get another restaurant started this year, and it's doing well. Still do some consulting when asked. Menu fixes, recipe tweeks, things like that.