Over the last few years, my obsession of all things food has been growing exponentially. It started slowly back in middle school, when I realized that if I wanted to eat something other than my dad’s standard fare (tacos, chili, chopped salad, and….there must have been some others…), I would have to cook it myself. So I began offering to cook once a week or so, often to my parent’s chagrin.
In college I began to explore other cuisines, and for a brief time my friends and I started an international food night where we would try a new cuisine every month.
After college I moved to North Pole, AK and was determined to try every restaurant in the North Pole/Fairbanks area before I left. My girlfriend (now wife) was a good sport about it though she occasionally tired of me saying, “Let’s try something new.” To which she’d respond, “We always try some place new.”
We moved to Las Vegas a couple of years later, and I started cooking more often, rarely cooking the same dish twice. I loved cooking new recipes, because it was the perfect opportunity to try new foods. I started to get increasingly interested in cooking and took a few cooking classes for the home cook at Creative Cooking School in Vegas. After several of these classes, I realized I wanted a deeper knowledge and understanding of cooking, more than what was offered in these four hour workshops.
I found out that the local community college had a culinary program and offered weekend classes. I enrolled in Culinary 101 and spent every Saturday in class. I loved it! After that first semester, my work schedule/travel no longer meshed with the classes they offered, so I was relegated to reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows to obtain the knowledge I craved.
We moved to the Bay Area about a year ago. My job no longer requires frequent travel so I have been looking for culinary classes out here. So far none of the culinary schools I have found out here offer night or weekend classes. However, that has not dampened my passion. I find myself spending my free time reading cookbooks, cooking, watching cooking shows, frequenting farmers markets, planning which restaurant try, and all around obsessing with food. In fact, for the past month or so, I have been waking up early so I have time to cook before work. When I get home from work I start cooking again. After I eat, I read one of my cookbooks.
Right now I’m reading Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck Cookbook. As soon as it came in the mail, I knew this was going to be an amazing book. So much so that as soon as I opened it up, I hugged it to my chest and told my wife, Jennifer, “This book is going to change my life.” So, yeah, Eat Breathe Cook. That about sums up my life.
Eat Breathe Cook 