The Culinary Works

Being a native Californian, meant that I grew up exposed to an amazing variety of foods always readily available in local markets.  Both of my parents grew up working in the packing sheds and picking fruit in the summer,  so I always had an appreciation for where my food came from.

I started cooking when I was six years old.  It was the result of an argument over what was for breakfast – I wanted Maypo and mom was making cream of wheat!  Although it could be said that I won the argument, my mother really just gave up and handed me the box of Maypo,"If you want Maypo, then you make it." She returned about 10 minutes later astonished to find me eating Maypo and then then suddenly excited that she no longer had to make breakfast for me each morning.  My victory was short-lived when I realized I had to make my own breakfast from then on.

Fueled by a fascination with “what makes things tick”, my journey has lead me through the exploration many facets of cuisine.  I took up learning the art of brewing and artisan breads in the nineties, and cheese making more recently.  Finally, after many years experimenting with ingredients and techniques, I took a year off from work and enrolled in the California Culinary Academy.

It really was an interesting and life changing experience for me.  It was a great opportunity to learn the science behind the procedures and advanced techniques from some very talented chefs.  I also learned a lot about the industry and was exposed to some fantastic food and wines.  After graduation, I unfortunately discovered that Two-buck-Chuck was not longer drinkable and I could not look at a shrimp for six month ( we prepared and consumed a lot of shrimp in that year).

When I am not writing of our adventures, enjoying a glass of wine or curing meat in what Jen 'lovingly' calls the cadaver fridge, I am usually engaged in the operations of the web site.  Not able to leave my tinkering behind, I also handle the technical operations, web design and programming for the Culinary Works web site.   Along with our talented graphics artist Jeff Hewlett, I also run GeeksWithKnives.com in helping other foodie businesses succeed on the web.

Thanks for stopping by!