The Start of Things

I’ve been thinking about the beginnings of thing. The genesis.

Most recently I saw the start of a new web cooking series (FOODGASM).  My daughter stars in this, and I was recalling her experiences with food and the kitchen.

I suppose she was a good eater from the start. But at three months of age, her dependence on me was suddenly severed, when I was hospitalized for blood clots.  Suddenly she was introduced to bottles and formula.  Her father, thinking that the nipple allowed the formula out too slowly, enlarged the holes in the nipples. That way it took less time per feeding.

Well, when I got home and was able to resume breastfeeding, Ashley found the newer food delivery system much more to her liking. So bottles and formula it was.

Was she always in the kitchen? No. But I do recall her trying to “help” on occasions.

Probably the first inkling I had of her future calling was when she, with a schoolmate, formed Kids Cookie Company. They stirred up and baked cookies in my kitchen and then went selling them.  They soon got to taking orders, and baking on demand.

Kids Cookie Company was left behind by junior high, but it was not too much after when she started going through the spice rack and trying out every herb and spice. Some of the concoctions? Well, let’s just say, some are better not remembered.

It was in her late teens, that I realized she could really cook.  She threw a sit-down dinner party for 16 people and made everything from scratch, including the French bread.

It was in her mid 20s that cooking became something that brought us together.  She was gaining experience, confidence. And so when she came into my kitchen, she was the expert. I deferred to her. The balance of power changed. We were on my equal terms.

And after many kitchen experiments and collaborations (yeah—I got to be sous chef), something became totally clear. Ashley was meant to cook, as well as perform. And that’s how the idea of a cooking show was born. And the reason she entered culinary school.

If you haven’t seen it yet, visit the website to see episodes of the show.

What interesting stories do you have of beginnings?