soups cookin....

Whenever I write a recipe, I start by imagining a place, a face, a smell, a taste, or a feeling that is the true heart of the dish that I am trying to create. I use all of my past experiences -- not just those from within the kitchen. In fact, some of the most powerful and compelling recipes in my repertoire are the ones that most uniquely represent my life experiences—my heritage. Interestingly enough, food heritage does not always equate to a chef’s actual heritage or ethnicity. We all have our own identities in the kitchen and certainly feel most comfortable using ingredients and techniques that we are familiar to, but what happens when we are forced to leave our safe space and cook…or even just eat…outside of that box? This is when we let our true food heritage come through. We can appreciate and try our best to mimic the techniques outlined in recipes that are foreign to us, but it is important that we impart something of our own. Whether it’s a like or dislike for a distinctive flavor that leads to a change in quantity, an addition of peppers to “spice it up”, a heavy hand with salt or simply a use of olive oil when others might use butter…each of us must put our own spin on things. Respecting and revealing our own food identity, not following a recipe to the “T”, is the essence of cooking. It is imperative that a cook not be afraid to take a risk, try something different, and then step back and ask, “Did it work?” Repetition of this process leads a cook to truly understand cooking.