Jo,

P.S. I know how you feel when your daughter surpasses you. That's what makes me happy too. All my kids have done that in their own ways.

Jim

We girls were taught all about household chores at a very young age. I remember her letting us beat eggs, or roll out dough, read and follow recipes. She also taught us how to sort laundry, wash, hang and fold. We had vacations with godparents who also taught us how to set a table, make desserts and embroider, sew buttons, etc. My kids all learned these things at home but can't say the same for the grandkids, some learned and some just can't be bothered. It's too bad for those who are afraid to give it a try, "can't" seems to be a preferred reason for some. I just can't understand how some mature women (or men) admit they don't know how to cook. DS married a girl who didn't cook and taught himself how to fix his favorites. He couldn't understand why it seemed so difficult for some people.

Gellchom, I loved reading that. It sounds like you all had a good time.

Rachelellen, would you post or email me a few of your favorite recipes? I know basically nothing about those cuisines and I'm very intrigued.

Still learning....

My parents were not the stay at home type. By the time I was 10 or so I could put something on the table for my three younger sisters and myself. The oldest always get to do everything you know. When I was sixteen I started working in restaurants. A summer job at the A&W followed by a "real" job washing dishes 3rd shift at a truck stop. The night cook to a pity on me and taught me to cook every kind of style egg she knew. I'd never heard of a poached egg before that. My father worked for a real chef when he was in school and did try to pass some things to me. Didn't work because to this day I don't sugar the vegtables or salt the potatoes. His best advice was "put it in a pan and cook it". From that advice I took to just figuring stuff out.

I've always watched. Learned stuff from my Grandparents, Parnents, roomies, sisters, and certainly this forum. Most everything I cook is on the wing. Sometimes I don't know what I'm making I just start some meat and go from there.... open the pantry and go "hmmmm".

Sooo... being a highly talented and serious chef type person last night I had whiskey & water with a bag of carrots for dinner. So far it is hold the carrots tonight.

: )
lyra

I always remember baking things, loved to get in the kitchen and play, making cookies and cakes. Cooking not so much...shortly before I got married my fiance was over and I offered him some leftovers, roast beef, potatoes, carrots, gravy...he loved it and for some reason assumed I had made it. I didn't correct him, big mistake. Of course one of the first things he asked for after we were married was my 'delicious roast dinner'. I had no idea what kind of meat to buy or how to cook it. There were many whispered frantic phone calls in the bathroom to my mom who explained how to make it...
My mom started buying me good basic cookbooks and I always picked the brains of older ladies at church who were happy to help.
My kids are much better at cooking than I was at their ages, my oldest daughter likes to cook, my younger daughter cooks when she gets in the mood, loves to create omelettes and pasta dishes, my son would rather me cook but loves to bake cookies. He conveniently wanders in the kitchen when I have all the ingredients out, says "Can I make 'em?" I say sure and busy myself nearby while he uses endless measuring cups, eats half the dough, and slips out before the kitchen is clean, lol.
I really had it easy though because my mother-in-law was a terrible cook, bless her heart. My husband appreciated anything that wasn't scorched or dried out.

The wording "When did you learn to cook?" implies I learned during a specific time period in the past, and am now finished. My learning has been in fits and bursts throughout my life, with a steep acceleration in the past seven years. For me, the tense that best describes my learning AND the adjective that describes my cooking is progressive (not perfect). (Hope I said that right: I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment.) I am an enthusiast, as opposed to an expert, and hope to continue learning how to cook until the day I die.

I learned some basics as a child, but there is a (true) family joke that I am incapable of following a recipe as written. To this day my dad still asks with a smile "What part of this recipe did you change?" when I cook anything for him.

During my first marriage, and for the first few years of my second, I was more of an assembler than a cook. When I stopped working 60 hour weeks, I finally had the freedom to learn to cook from real ingredients, and I haven't looked back.

I try three or so completely new meals a week, as much for the mental exercise of following instructions as for the cooking itself. I have also reached a point where I can either cook without a recipe, or can successfully combine different aspects of two or more recipes.

As I type, I'm sitting in the KLM lounge in the Amsterdam airport, on my way to New Delhi. While my husband attends his medical conference, I have two days of cooking classes and a guided tour of the spice and produce markets scheduled.

There is tremendous pleasure in pursuing a passion with the firm belief that my learning will never be complete.

My Mom & Grandma Kelly (lived with us my whole life) took charge of cooking & cleaning they were basic cooks with old time type recipes. We (the 5 kids & dad) knew to stay away from the kitchen when they were doing there"thing". When I married (26 yrs old) hubby Sicilian Grandparents grabbed me threw me in there kitchen and off to work I went I learned basic Italian and then my love of cooking took off and i self taught myself with of course the help of many a good cookbook. My 4 children are already learning from me & I enjoy to teach them.

Two commonalities I've noticed:

1. Having the responsibility of cooking for your family as a child.
2. Becoming more adventurous as an empty nester.

I do agree that the learning is an ongoing process that really never ends as long as you continue to go in the kitchen. It does amaze me when an adult (including my DH) has no comfort level at all in the kitchen beyond making something like a sandwich or boiling pasta. I know some adults who eat out almost every meal - they simply never go into the kitchen to actually prepare something.

This is fun to read and makes me remember more about my exposure to cooking as a child. One thing that sticks in my mind is how the configuration of the kitchen made a difference. We spent a lot of time with my Great Aunt, who was a great cook. She had a big metal table in the center of the kitchen where she did all of her prep. I could sit at one end and watch, and I can just picture her rolling pie dough or prepping a roast.

However at my mom's kitchen, there were counters on one side where she did her prep and there was no way to sit and watch her, especially when you're a little kid. Later we moved to a bigger house and I could watch her from across the island. However, I was a teenager by then and didn't want to hang out with mom.

I do remember watching my mom squish the moisture out of the cabbage for cole slaw, rice the potatoes for mashed potatoes and bread the veal. She still cooks dinner for my son and me on Sunday evening, so I try to pay attention now. Her food isn't very healthy though, as she thinks lima beans taste best with a little heavy cream poured on them.

Some day I will get back to cooking when I have more time. I do think I picked up a lot of basic skills from watching Mom and Aunt Florence.

My sons are both good cooks. The older one was on his own from early on, so he learned to do it and he's pretty good. The younger one worked in restaurants and occasionally got behind the stove to cook when the regular cook was backed up. He does well, too. I think a lot of cooking is just having that "sixth sense" about how it should go.

My mother, whose kitchen exploits are legendary, opened cans and hoped for the best. My dad made grilled cheese and grilled steaks. As we were cattle ranchers, we ate a lot of steak.

One of my first jobs, out of college, was working for Time-Life Books, that publisher of popular series. The company reimbursed employees for any classes they took (100% for anything job-related, 75% for classes from degree-granting institutions, etc.).

So, besides taking Latin Hustle lessons at the local Y, I took cooking classes, usually given at embassies around Washington DC. I thought I'd meet guys. I did. They were also there to meet guys. C'est la vie.

And later, I married a chef. Who wasn't wowed by my knife skills but was impressed that I actually ate full meals, rather than picking at a salad.

And our kids are pretty good cooks, even though my daughter's still semi-scared of the gas stove.

I have no idea of exactly when I learned to cook. Like Annie, I was always helping out in the kitchen of our house or my grandmothers or aunts. Tipping green beans, cutting up dried apricots with blunt-tipped scissors, searching dried beans and lentils for pebbles and measuring out spices were a few of the earliest jobs I remember doing. I just kind of observed and showed interest so was encouraged to try progressively more complex tasks.

I do know that by junior high school, I could cook full meals and bake pies and cookies for my friends without any assistance. A life-changing event occurred around the beginning of high school - our local grocery store offered a volume a week of the 12 book WomenÂs Day Encyclopedia of Cookery. We bought them and they opened up a whole new world of regional US and foreign cuisines and ingredients to me. It was the beginning of cooking my own dishes instead of duplicating family ones and developing my own cooking style. I never thought of cooking as a chore, like vacuuming. It was something pleasant, like knitting a new sweater.

My girls learned to cook much the same way I did, basically through immersion. When they were young, we used to play Cooking Show, telling our imaginary audience what we were doing so theyÂd learn how to make the dish. We even had a theme song weÂd sing as we were putting on our aprons. LOL Both are very adventuresome and good cooks. They do a lot of entertaining and IÂm proud to see how they can do it with such a small amount of stress and fuss.

We were chased us out of the kit. Apparently we were in the way. I learned after I got married.

Oh another thing -- I had an Easy Bake oven and that piqued my interest in baking. Nothing quite like a mini-cake baked by the heat of a lightbulb.

I was also inspired by this cookbook, which I got as a gift and spent hours poring over the pictures and recipes. I know i tried a few of them. I still have my copy from the '50's.

I think for me it's self taught. I used to cook when my mother went to bed or went out because I wasn't allowed in the kitchen. I was the "messy" kid. I also had to play with my friend's Easy Bake Oven every time I went to visit her. And I always made mud pies. So far, my kids are only interested in decorating cupcakes and cookies.

Betty Crocker. lol

My mom was the cook (uninspired for sure) in our family and I had no interest at all. So, by the time I married I could make toast, bake a pork chop, and...well, I think that's about it.

My husband on the other hand grew up cooking. He was number 4 out of six boys. They lived on a farm with three tractors. So as number 4 he got 'stuck' with kitchen duty a lot. Yay for me though because he came from a family where good, cooked from scratch food was the norm. Okay, beef, potato, and a veggie with copious amounts of sweet tea. And that family could (and still does) bake terrific sweets. All of them can read a recipe and modify it for the better. Sigh.

So we got married DH would have to actually leave the kitchen so I could struggle through reading a recipe. After a year we moved to the family farm and I began cooking two big meals a day. THAT taught me to cook...real food, tasty food. We grew a huge garden and my MIL taught me to can, make jelly, and/or pickle all the produce.

But, it was moving to Europe that *inspired* me. Such fresh new flavors and combinations. One of my favorite pasttimes is collecting recipes from our travels. Belgian, French, Italian, Indian...it's all good.

Both of our sons know how to cook because we insisted they learn the basics. In fact just last night I acted as sous chef for my nineteen year old son as he did a pasta dish for supper. With him, we get Italian. With my oldest, we get grilled meat. I hope they keep on cooking!

And I always watched Wok With Yan. I think I was 9-10 yrs old at the time.

My first real job (in high school) was at an Italian pastry shop near my house. I worked there on and off for 3 years. Didn't do any baking, but it was a wonderful world to be immersed in and I picked up tips here and there.
jo

What a cool post and fun read!

I've always loved to eat so I would hang out in the kitchen during prep and watch my Mom and both of my Grandma's when we were visiting. Nothing too fancy as both of my parents were raised on farms and had the typical meat, potatoes, veggie, and some kind of bread/rolls for dinner. I remember helping frying the bacon, making scrambled eggs, mixing cookie dough, kneading bread and various other things a kid could help out with. My favorite quote was add, do, mix, etc.....until it looks right. I still do that to this day and find it hard to put that in writing or explain it to friends who want a recipe.

Mom and Dad divorced when I was in second grade so we were latch key kids back in 70's. We were home alone during dinner time and Mom would prep things to a certain point and I would finish and put things in the oven. Simple things like pot roasts, ribs, ham, chicken, or the infamous hotdishes of the midwest. I guess baking cookies, making cakes/brownies from a mix, and the famous blue box were the first things I cooked by myself. Add to that grilled cheese, and breakfast....bacon, pancakes, waffles, etc.

My first jobs were in the food industry as a waiter or bar back and I learned a lot from the kitchen staff there too. Just observing and asking questions. I loved cooking shows in my younger years too. Julia, Justin Wilson, and the frugal gourmet guy...can't think of his name but he was based out of Seatttle I think. What little I remember from my Dad was grilling and cooking over a camp fire or one of those coleman stoves.

I continued to watch many TV shows on cooking and then TFN came along. Found this site nine or ten years ago and I'm still learning today. So, that's my story in a nut shell so to speak. I love food, love to cook, and love to feed people. I enjoy cooking for a crowd and that is easy to do with my family and group of friends. Yes, I always make to much but I would hate for anyone to go home hungry....and most know that there will be dessert. There has to be dessert!! LOL

David

My mom was a great cook but I don'r remember cooking with her as a child, although that did happen later.

At about 8 I made a batch of cream puffs from the Betty Crocker CB. Looking back I realize how awful they were but it was "my special recipe" and I made them quite a bit. When I was 13, mom started a restaurant that stayed in the family for 40 years. Obviously I was around food and good cooks all the time but didn't become interested until about 18 when I became a veggie headed hippie and roamed the country for 7 or 8 years. In the 70's vegetarian choices were extremely limited. A good sized city had a health food store and most pizza joints had mayonaisy salad bars- so there were some prepared foods available but typically if you wanted to eat well you had to cook. That led to a job in a hippie vegetarian restaurant in Oregon, and an upscale veggie place in NY.

In time the vegetarian interests drifted away and I found myself working under Felipe Rojas Lombardi, a partner to James Beard in an outrageously state of the art gourmet kitchen owned by Dean and Deluca.

From there a I spent a year in commercial baking school and a few more in various scratch bakeries and eventually went back home took over the family restaurant, receiving great Americana comfort food cooking tips from my mom.

Now, no longer in the business, I scraped up the cash to put a commercial-style gas stove in my kitchen so I could cook with all the power I'd grown accustomed to for so long.

Sorry for all the wind... don't get me started....

michaelp

I don't remember any specific instruction as a kid (other than middle school home ec where we learned to make apple crisp and macaroni and cheese). I mostly just helped mom in the kitchen as she was making dinner for the family. We made lots of basic meat and potato meals and I learned to bbq very early! Mom also taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies for dad and enlisted my help in the Christmas Cookie Craziness every year. There was a lot of learning by doing in our house.

When I went away to school I started cooking for myself and branching out from the dad approved food that mom made. Fortunately I married a relatively adventurous diner so I've been able to expand my repertoire. And with the help of the amazing people around here I'm learning more about how to cook every day!

My mom was a terrific cook but she only learned after she married. She said her parents were too poor to take any chances with letting the kids help with the meal prepration. My dad only wanted to eat traditional Greek cooking, so that's mainly what my mom cooked. I don't recall actually helping her in the kitchen much. My memories are more of watching her as I'd dart in and out of the kitchen grabbing snacks, drinks, and snitching sauteed onions from the pot.

My mom loved to read cookbooks and women's magazines that featured recipes. I'd do the same thing while our family watched TV at night. She & I also enjoyed watching "The French Chef" and "The Galloping Gourmet." My mom and I always talked about food and cooking. In fact, the last conversation we had together, we discussed making stuffed grape leaves.

I must have absorbed a knowledge of basic cooking somehow though. My first solo attempt was cooking a spaghetti dinner at a college friend's apartment. He complimented my abilities and asked me how many times I had prepared that recipe. I had to tell him that I'd never cooked spaghetti before in my life.

During my single days, I shared apartments with roommates and we always rotated cooking duties. By the time I got married, I was a pretty good cook. I've never been a big dessert fan, so cookies, cakes, etc. are something I still don't have much experience with (other than the traditional Greek sweets). I still like to read cookbooks, cooking magazines, and visit this forum. There's always some new flavor combination or new technique to learn or try.

When I was very small, the maid did the cooking, and even though I watched her, I didn't learn much from her, since she wanted to keep me out of the way. I do remember making mud pies when I was four with a toy oven that my sister got for Christmas, and that's when I learned that they were not supposed to be eaten. I was very disappointed with that and wanted to make real cakes. As soon as I could read, I would read my mother's encyclopedic cookbook (I don't remember the name of it, but it had over 1000 pages and was green hardcover) and make recipes from that, starting with cakes. I soon graduated to cookies and hors d'oeuvres. When I was eight, I really liked making dainty cookies for my mother's tea parties, and I would serve them to her guests on a silver platter. If they took too many cookies at a time, I would register a shocked look on my face, and they would put some of them back.

When I was nine, my grandmother taught me how to make bread, mainly because I was the only one interested, and she would teach anyone who would give her the attention. She didn't really teach me much else, but the rest I learned by watching her. My mother was not interested in learning from her when she was a child, but I thought that that was a mistake and that I should make up for it.

Lars

I think I see a third commonality here: many of us had a good cook to observe, even if it wasn't the person who cooked for you as a child. I remember watching The Galloping Gourmet and the chefs at work. And I had to watch my grandmother because she didn't meausre anything! Later when I would ask her "how much?", I had to remember what one of her "half a handfuls" might look like.

Heh...I didn't even know anyone who ATE sushi or ceviche or Pad Thai until I was in my 30s, let alone MADE it. I doubt I knew anyone who knew what ceviche or pad Thai was, and sushi was called "bait". Love all of it now.

I was raised by my grandparents and my grandmother did all of the cooking. It wasn't fancy, just basic scratch cooking. When I was 13 she became ill with leukemia and was hospitalized frequently I took over the kitchen out of self defense. My grandfather's cooking was abysmal. I used the recipe on the bag of spaghetti and made passable spaghetti with a meat sauce. My grandfather was impressed enough that he left me alone in the kitchen. I found the one cookbook in the house and made all of our bread and a few other things.

After she recovered I made the occasional batch of cookies or treats until I was on my own at age 18. For a year I lived in a large house with several other people and we shared dinner duties, each of us taking a turn at a meal for all of us in rotation. Again I found the one cookbook in the house and used it. For several years after that I often shared a house with other people with whom I cooked and shared meals. We learned a lot from each other.

By the time I married at 30 I was a decent cook. I had subscribed to Cuisine and Gourmet and read them like novels. I also took a few cooking classes at a local community center. And had a library of cookbooks from the a cookbook of the month club I also subscribed to.

I have learned a lot here since discovering this forum. I have learned a vast amount about regional cuisine that had escaped me as a West Coast dweller. I wish I had more people to cook for!

Thinking back on it some more, I realize my mom didn't really have room for another person in the kitchen, it was tiny! I was always in charge of setting the table, running to the basement for extra serving plates if we had company, etc.
My stepmother was a good cook, and I would try to hang around the kitchen and offer to help but she would shoo me out, she resented me and my brother being in her house. (one day a week!) I never made my kids feel unwelcome in the kitchen. My oldest daughter pointed out the last time she was home that I always explain what I'm doing or why you add this or that as I'm cooking, I wasn't aware I did this, lol.
When I was younger (newly married) I was more interested in actual recipes and following them to a tee, when I started watching Food Network (when it was good) I learned more technique and basics. I rarely cook with a recipe now, but I still love to pour through cookbooks and get ideas.

Nice to hear all the stories. Sounds like a lot of us had a similar start.
- - - - - - - - - - -
I was very young when I was born. Our families lived in West Philly.
At that time, it took a while before I could climb on a chair, to reach the table.
Thats where my Grandmother made all her Goodies.
She let me help make Raviolis but I was mostly the edge pincher.

I put the Pasta on the Guitar and rolled the rolling pin over it, to make noodles.

Also helped make the Bowtie Cookies and sprinkled them with powdered Sugar.
Made Pineapple upside down cake . One of my favorites.

As I got a little older , she kept the Wooden Spoon handy ,
because I was always into something .
If I bugged her too much, out came the broom. You had to be quick .

I joined the Boy Scouts when I was 11 years old. ( lied about my age )
When we went camping, I made a large pot of Chicken Soup on the campfire.
It turned out great. That set me on the road to Stardom.
You wont be able to question any of the Scouts, they are not around.

Cooking slowed down when I was in HS , because the girls wouldnt leave me be.
Or was it the other way around ???
And we fooled around with our cars (Hot Rods then )
I had the fastest car in SW Philly and I had all the tickets to prove it.
Owned a 1940 Ford coupe, that I was customizing. It was almost done,
when I as drafted into the Army.
The only job opening ; for me and another guy, was a Cook, so naturally we told the CO
We knew how to cook.
I did Construction work at the time. The other guy was a Plumber.

Our first meal was Spaghetti and Meatballs. Did we know how to make this ???
Does a Bear go in the woods ?
To top it off , a new CO took over . He was Italian, from PA. ( Mama Mia !!! )
The Sauce was so good, he told the Mess Sergeant,
"if anyone but Badolato or Zepp make the Spaghetti Sauce, Ill Court Martial you "
We had a Small Company ( about 250 ) so we made a lot of things on the side.
Like pizza , at night and Cinnamon Buns.

When I was discharged, I got married and used all the cooking knowledge to teach my wife.
She didnt know much about cooking.
Her mother sheltered her, from getting injured .
I could write a Best Seller on the crazy things she did. We all laugh about the stories, every so often.
After having 3 kids , one after another , she told me to get a girlfriend.

I was very busy thru the years with Building and Remodeling and working as a Machinist,
So the cooking slowed down. But I did all the Holiday meals.
Also made Cinnamon Buns, Braided Bread, Pizza , etc.
More or less as a Hobby and because everyone enjoyed everything I made.

In the early 60s, I quit the machinist work and opened a Pizzeria.
I enjoyed it and made Pizzas to bring to an after hours Club, that we frequented,
on the weekend.
Met a few movie stars and singers there.
Brought Mickey Shaughtessy a green Pizza on St. Paddys day.
I sold the Pizzeria after 2 years and went back into Remodeling and Building.
This involved Electrical, Plumbing, Carpentry, Masonry and Landscaping.

We did Flea Markets on the weekends and sold Collectibles, since the 80s.

Built a home in the Poconos , Pa., in the early 90s.
Started cooking a little more and put Recipes in our Holiday Pocono news paper and
in a local newspaper.
Havent done that much lately. Just trying to enjoy life a little, with my Family.
Have to get back into things again.

Hope you got an earful !!! Tell me about you.!
LOU

"Posted by hawk307 ----I was very young when I was born.----"

LOLOL

dcarch

Dedtired, I had that same cookbook! I gave it to Amanda and Ashley and now The Princess has it. That's where she learned to mix egg yolk and food coloring to make "paint" for cookies.

David, I watched the Frugal Gourtmet too, that was Jeff Smith. Grandma would never miss the Galloping Gourmet either, Graham Kerr, and I loved Julia Child.

My first job was breaking Shetland ponies, LOL, but my second job was in a sub sandwich/chicken joint. Then the ex and I bought into the family bar and grille and ran that for about 20 years. I was a good cook, lousy waitress, LOL.

Annie

Oh Lou! Bless your heart!!! You made me LOL and LOL some more. And I'm sitting here in the office lobby at work!

My mom used a spatula to keep us in line - the long, thin type that you would ice a cake with. She mostly threatened with it.

Thanks, darlin'
Teresa

Thanks Annie. Whatever happened to him anyway? He just seemed to go MIA. Now that you mentioned Kerr I remember watching him too.

My Mom had the "spoon" Teresa. The famous words don't make get the spoon usually took care of any challenges we were giving her at the time. LOL

David

Oh dear, David, I was afraid you would ask. There was some scandal where he was accused of sexual assault and, although charges were never filed, he just disappeared.

Annie

The Jeff Smith thing was horrific though. He settled out of court with some of the 20 accusers.

Teen boys, right? Very icky story though he was never charged. Easy to google.

I recently bought one of Jeff Smith's cookbooks in a thrift store. I haven't had a chance to explore it. I remember when he was on PBS but don't remember much about his recipes. He was a very popular TV chef for a long time.

Oh yeah he was charged.....and settled with the 20 or so claimants 4 days before the trial was to open.
He was a methodist minister....and he died a few years back.
I loved his show...and have at least one of his cookbooks.

The sources I found said he wasn't charged and settled out of court. I didn't follow the case when it happened. I'll take your word for it. That he took advantage of his position of trust as a minister and his popularity as a celebrity is the abhorrent part of it all.

I use to love the Galloping Gourmet! Thought it was so racy how he cooked with a glass of wine in his hand. He is really the only early cooking show I recall. There was an Italian guy from Vancouver that I used to think was incredible but I can;t recall his name. Still use his recipe for Hunter Style Chicken (can't spell Cacciatori!). I think I need to spend some time revisiting old recipes.

Lou, I liked your story.

LindaC, I guess I should be more specific, he was not charged CRIMINALLY, he was sued civilly and settled before trial, but has always flatly denied the accusations.

The facts of the case, I understand them, are that seven plaintiffs joined the suit, which was first filed by Clint Smith (no relation), who had just spent two years in prison for forging checks out of the chef's account. Actually, Clint Smith filed suit and the others filed a separate suit, probably because they didn't want to be tainted by his history. All alleged acts supposedly took place in the 70s and none of the men apparently realized that they had recourse until they sued in the 90s, over 20 years later. Clint Smith started making allegations in 1995, was heard on the radio by other plaintiffs, and that's when they filed.

it is my understanding that no criminal action was ever filed as insufficient evidence was available for charging or conviction. No admissions were ever made by Jeff Smith, who still flatly denies the allegations, nor have any of the other alleged victims stepped forward to sue. So, was he "guilty until proven innocent", or was he really guilty? I don't know, but I do know that insufficient evidence was obtained to charge criminally and that the most vocal accuser was/is not completely credible. How about the other six? Beats me, I've never seen the criminal investigative report.

The bottom line is that he was never charged or convicted and I liked his show. I have three of his cookbooks, two of which were sent to me by RobinKate in a swap, "Our Immigrant Ancestors", and "Three Ancient Cuisines".

Annie

I can't remember when I didn't help out, at least with the baking. I think my twin sister and I were 4 when we were officially drafted. We loved to help stir the mix in the bowl, roll out the dough, and cut the cookies. We also got our own Easy Bake Oven around that age.

My mother always said that if she had daughters that she would start them at a young age. Her mother never taught her and she had to learn after she got married. My Dad and her would tell lots of funny stories about all her mistakes. I think my grandmother was very territorial about her kitchen. She never would let anyone help.

I learned how to cook main courses by the time I was 8 or 9. I could cook a full dinner by the time I was 10. Baking is still my favorite thing to do.
Clare

OY! I had no idea about all of that y'all. I did like his show....

David

I started "cooking" in the house we moved out of when I was 5. I'm sure I was more hindrance than help, but I sure liked the cookies we made! I was utterly amazed when I got to college and realized how many people had no clue in the kitchen. I thought that all kids cooked! My cousins & brothers & sisters all did. By high school, one was expected to be able to put a meal on the table.

My MIL, otoh, didn't learn a thing about cooking until she was married. Her mother didn't want anyone else underfoot in the kitchen.

Interesting thread. Let me bore you with mine.

I didnt like to cook. I like lousy food even less. So I had to cook.

I am very interested in sciences, however, and cooking is all about science. Cooking is thermodynamic, biochemistry, physics, physiology, sociology and behavior science.

Thermodynamics How do you prepare a nice perfect steak dinner in 20 minutes with a frozen solid piece of steak?

Biochemistry How does meat tenderizer work?

Physics Whats the difference between radiant heat and convection heat?

Physiology sugar, salt, bacon fat, etc and you body.

Sociology eating habits of the world.

Behavior science A nicely arranged plating of dog food or cat food makes no difference to the dog or cat; it makes a huge difference to humans.

I am around young people a lot. It is very satisfying to teach young people science thru cooking, and to inspire them to think out of the box. In this age of Google digital automation, information acquiring is no longer relevant. It is urgent to encourage the young minds to engage in creativity.

My kitchen is my laboratory, classroom, playground and from time to time my canvas.

dcarch

Interesting about Jeff Smith. I don't know that much about it but kind of assumed he was guilty. Who knows.

When; Probably at an early age. I always watched my Mom in the kitchen growing up. From who; My Mom and Dad (he was a great cook as well as Mom). He would often make dinner during the week since he got home from work earlier than Mom. My brothet is also an excellent cook, however his wife was brought up on the "you'll learn when you get married" theory. Lastly, a chef that I worked with at several differnt restaurants over the years. His name is Yves and he was from Lyon, France. I really learned kind of a different world of cooking from him, since most of my exposure had been a Sicilian style of cooking. He also opened my eyes to foods that I would never go near before. He would often make something for the waitstaff to taste that he was having on special that evening, so that we could be able to honestly promote it, but he wouldn't always tell us what it was. That's when I had my first taste of Sweetbreads. While I would never even consider buying them, cooking them or ordering them in a restaurant, I have to admit that they were quite delicious and I sold quite a few diners on the special that night. He did the same thing with Frog Legs and Alligator, both also very good. I also have tons of cookbooks and subscibed to Bon Appetit and Food and Wine for about 15 years. I can't cook straight from a recipe, but I do use them for ideas.

Sharon (Chase), that would be Umberto Menghi. He use to have a show back in the 70's out of Vancouver. My favourite salmon recipe is one of his.

I have a couple of his Cook books.

Ann

Like others here, it's an ongoing experience.

Not sure just when it started, probably when I was about 9 or 10.
It will probably end when I do.

Was in 4-H, & learned to bake there.

Still like to bake.

"Everyday" cooking is something I do mostly because I have to.
But holiday meals for a crowd are fun to do.

Rusty

Thanks Ann, that's him! I just loved his show and learned much from it.

Even growing up cooking, I never experienced anything like my first time hosting Thanksgiving newly married. We had 30 and I cooked most of it. And no dishwasher then either but we used no disposables and everything was sit down.

I keep trying to read this whole thread before responding but it keeps growing LOL.

I didn't learn from my mom. My father would always shoo me into the kitchen to help her, which I detested because (2) I wasn't interested in learning. (1) Her style in the kitchen would make me CRAZY - 'mom, dad sent me in here to help. What do you want me to do?' she would then put her finger in her mouth, say 'hmmmm, let me think', then she would take a few minutes to THINK and come up with 'peel those carrots'. I would then have to bug her (or my dad would jump on me) to find another task. She wasn't organized or able to be a manager to delegate to me.

OTOH she did LOVE international cuisine and exposed us to varieties of food far and wide, especially Chinese.

I taught myself to cook my second year in the college apartments. I bought The Campus Survival Cookbook Parts 1 and 2 which helped me learn basics via appropriate college kid type menus, at my level. I also bought, on a lark, The Silver Palate and loved many of those recipes. I still have the Campus books and I think they are the best kind to give a college kid since they helped with shopping, stocking a small kitchen, and potlucks.

My DH, who is a better 'technical' cook than I, also taught himself. He says his mother was a dreadful cook and his grandmother would say 'bring your girlfriend over and I'll teach her'. Didn't help that he didn't have a GF at the time....He taught himself via 9th grade 'Bachelor Cooking' in HS and the Joy of Cooking, which is his bible. He is now reading Bittman's How to Cook Everything, LOL.

So we both pretty much taught ourselves. I wish I would have had more of a 'basics' foundation, about cuts of meats and baking science, but I can find that out on my own. I do love working with my DH in the kitchen!

Ooooooooh I bet you do girl. hahah!!!

LOL! Jessie!!
My info about Jeff Smith came from current...likely not the most reliable of sites...
I hope he wasn't an abuser...I loved his show, and what little I know about Chinese cooking I learned from his book "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks 3 Ancient Cuisines"....and a Gourmet series by Barbara Tropp.