Me and my friend, Mr. Shaw

Every living thing needs sustenance. And so before I was even born, I began my love affair with food. My journey in the food world is an on going one. Different events in my life shape what I cook and eat, but what I have found over the years is cooking together with those you love is a great equalizer.

I am entrusted with the lives of four very fine young men. They are not the first of their kind by any means. Upon first glance they are typical teens of the twenty-first century. You know the look- flat billed ball caps that have been haphazardly tossed atop messy bedhead hair, over sized tee shirts with name brand labels screaming in a multitude of colors and shapes, baggy jeans whose tops are perched precariously at mid thigh, and of course the ever present "skater" shoes. And yet, as soon as they begin to talk it becomes abundantly clear that these gentlemen are anything but typical. Attention spans are short, lies flow from their mouths like water, and impulses cannot be controlled. These are everyday occurrences in lives of my "boys."

Why do I feel the need to go into far more detail about these boys than you could possibly care to know? Because they, like you or me, are human. And they have basic human needs. They need to eat, to be loved, and to be good at something.

I have been blessed with the ability to learn quickly and retain new information. The boys that I work with can't say the same. It occurred to me one day that even the youngest and underdeveloped minds can help in the kitchen. And so it began, on the most basic level. We came together to fill our tummy's and our souls.

I leave you with this-

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."
-- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)