Food + Drink

osMy father was an amazing chef and could take a tough piece of meat and make a tender roast out of it, pink on the inside and brown on the outside. But, he wasn't patient and could not figure out how to teach my sister and me how to cook. Mom wasn't a cook at all and dad did all the cooking in our home. Consequently, when I got married I had no idea how to cook. Everything I made was burned on the outside and raw inside because of the high heat I used. I didn't understand about temperature, timng, or seasoning and what you saw was what you got.

It’s often said that bartenders are like cheap therapists, and most days that feels like the truth. So, one day when I saw a reserved older man, sitting at the end of my bar all alone and looking like he had the world on his shoulders, naturally I went over and asked what he wanted to drink. He smiled kindly, his eyes crinkling around the edges just a little.

I discovered radishes when I worked in a local eatery. Radishes were a star food in the local eatery's salads. With an array of gourmet paninis to offer nearby offices, our most popular sandwiches included radishes.

When I scroll through all the pictures in my phone it’s hard to pick just one subject. I am a photographer, so I have photos of my mom’s dog, landscapes, my friends, flights I have taken, you name it I probably have at least one picture of it. But right now, my favorite shots are my food preparation and meals. This is very important to me because I live on a sailboat and plan to sail around the world within the next couple of years with my boyfriend. When I think about actually leaving it makes me think that so many people have this dream, but how many people really do it and do it? It takes a lot of courage to up and leave a “normal” life doing the same thing every day or they have young kids. I think it’s the same idea of having kids “there is no perfect time,” you can only prepare as much as you can and just do it!

I got into MasterChef Canada late into season 1 of the series. I was excited to see Eric Chong win season 1. I only got to see the last few episodes but it was really exciting as they were creating really crazy dishes in such a short period of time.

The deli was in Hammersmith, around the corner from my school. At my old school, in New York, I didn’t go out for lunch; I liked the food in the cafeteria there. But in London, at my new school, the food was – well, the truth is I don’t remember. So I’m going to tell you that the food was bad. It’s up to you whether you believe me. But this is my story. What I say is up to me.