My first introduction to professional cooking came to me while at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts and was fostered in the summers by my dear friend Vincent Waugh. Vince gave me a job in his restaurants, helping me to learn every aspect of the industry...including having a PASSION for food and the kitchen. Vince is gone now, but there is not a week that goes by that I don't remember some fun line he said, or some craft of the trade he imparted.
Feeding that PASSION over time landed with three additional, extremely capable and nourishing CHEFS.
First is CHEF Mollie Katzen the iconic birth giver of THE MOOSEWOOD style and art of food. All things natural, wholesome, unusually creative (especially compared to “American Cuisine” at the time, and sumptuous. http://molliekatzen.com/ Mollie broke open the landscape and fashioned a niche in food culture and counterculture which lives on today. Mollie has done more - single handedly - to convert our palates toward the good than any other American Chef. She is an exceptional artist as well. Her art has attended her recipes from the start. That really helped birth this movement. As of 2020:
Second is CHEF Peter Reinhart - http://peterreinhart.typepad.com/ - of what used to be known as Brother Juniper's Cafe. Peter's love of breads and soups is one that I instantly connected with. His work still moves through time and space challenging our original ideas about simple and basic meals and ingredients. As of 2020:
Third is CHEF Jacob Burton - http://fredricksbistro.com/ - from Fredrick's Fusion Bistro. Jacob's attention to educating other chefs and cooks alike was able to reignite my PASSION for food as I moved back into the arts and sciences of food. His webcasts - http://freeculinaryschool.com/ - are jammed with all sorts of vocabulary and techniques that remind chefs not only of the lay of the land but also trip us out into the joy of why we love to do this thing called FOOD. As of 2020: https://stellaculinary.com/content/chef-jacob-burton
Thanks to all four: Vince, Mollie, Peter, and Jacob. It is in their names that I begin this blog.
Ciao!
+Tom
Image used with permission of Mollie Katzen
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