Growing Up Around Food

      It is no secret that I have grown up around food. My mother made sure of that. But, probably more significant is the fact that I have grown up around chefs. This, I'm sure, has had an impact on how I think about and handle food. For instance, cooking has become this intimate act. An act that I will only preform in the presence of those whom I adore. I like to believe it is the same for chefs, and if the chef is phenomenal, you can taste that adoration in the food presented to you. Growing up around food has not only given me the knowledge to become a better cook, but it has given me an appreciation of the craft itself.

I have this vivid memory of standing on a chair in front of the stove in Barb Fenzels kitchen. I had stayed over for the weekend because my parents were out of town and, as my godmother, she agreed to look after me. She was teaching me how to make scrambled eggs. I was five. She didn't do anything for me, but walked me through it instead. She taught me how to grease a pan, crack an egg, wield a spatula, and how to tell when the eggs were cooked properly. Then she taught me how to be creative with it, by adding cheese, vegetables, and spices. To this day, I make scrambled eggs the way she taught me.

      When I was 6 years old I was at the Universal Backlot in Los Angeles for an event called Meals on Wheels. Who was there? Wolfgang Puck, Vincent and his family, my mother, and me. We were making creme brule and my job was to sprinkle the sugar on top and then pass it to Vincent, so he could torch the top and give it the classic shell surface. Vincent made sure I was perfect. Anything less would be insufficient. However, you bet your ass that once we were done with the event, I finished off the rest of the sugar with one of Vincent's sons. I developed the habit of eating ingredients pretty early on in life... This photo is pre-sugar:

  As I got older I was able to appreciate these type of experiences more and more. I will forever remember the night that Jaques Pepin was over at my house cooking pizzas. He and the other chefs were challenging each other to make the best pizza of the night. I have no clue who "won" but that was some of the best pizza I have ever eaten and one of the coolest nights of my life. The food industry is intense and intimidating, especially to those outside of it. But the chefs I grew up around taught me that if you can't have some fun with it, what's the point?