Flavor, we all love it. Good food brings back memories of childhood, can make us feel better after a bad day, and is the center piece of a great social event. We have dinners at weddings, state functions and to host an important person in our lives. Food is something that we enjoy and cant wait to share with those we love.
I have always loved cooking, I started cooking at the feet of my Grandma Pratt when I stood on a milk crate to fry my first egg and my Grampa Skakum inspired me to cook for others. Our family occasions were always filled with great food and it seemed magical how a feast could be created when you opened the fridge and saw just a few raw materials. I would watch my grandfather cook and see him say, ok we need some sweetness what do I have, it could have been sugar, honey or Coke as long as it brought the flavor he wanted. He would dip into his herbs and spices and add then taste and it always turned out amazing. I have great family role models to guide my cooking and that is where my love of food came from.
Another person who has inspired my cooking style and who taught me how to play with flavors was Chef Michael Smith. I started watching him when he had his Inn Chef show and was impressed with how easy he made everything look, and how much I wanted to eat the food he served. His show Chef at Home provided tremendous inspiration. The line “My favorite recipe...cooking without a recipe” really caught my interest. My grandfather and grandmother both seemed to throw things together and the results were always amazing. I wanted to be able to do the same thing, break away from formula cooking and just create great food. I wanted to create and Michael Smith held the secret.
Michael Smith educated me on how to build a recipe based on the flavors you love. When he would walk into his pantry during the show I was amazed at all of the ingredients he had, he would describe flavors and how they went together. I could taste it as he described it. I love how he will take an ingredient then build a recipe around it and enhance the flavors. His approach is very clear and his food is not at all intimidating. I find that his approach to food has changed how I watch cooking shows. I don’t look at a dish as a dish but as a combination of flavors, I pay attention to what is used with what, and what flavors make or break a particular dish. After watching his shows I am better able to learn from other Chefs. I firmly believe that we have to take responsibility for our food and free ourselves from the factory food that can be so bad for us. In order to do this we have to learn how to cook and how to make food that is pleasing to ourselves and our family. I will share with you all of the things I am learning but I would strongly recommend that you follow Michael Smith.
He has launched a website where he is broadcasting a new series called Food Country. He has launched 5 episodes so far and has a new one every Tuesday. He also has some great recipes and tip and is building an interactive food community inviting others to share their tips.
He is of course on Food Network Canada and you can follow him on Twitter @ChefMICHAELsmith and on Facebook. If you love food and love cooking I recommend bookmarking his site and following him on Twitter. He will change the way you look at food and cooking, I know he did that for me.
