How it all began

Was it the sound of the ocean waves breaking on the beach, my trancelike state of pure relaxation, or too many Kona Wailua Wheat beers? I’ll never know for sure, but it all started in Hawaii. Stretched out on my beach chair, blue skies above, with a day of total freedom ahead I decided: I’m going to start a food blog.

The idea had been planted by a friend over a bowl of Momofuku ramen noodles over a month earlier, but at the time, I had dismissed the idea. Yet somehow, while lounging in paradise, starting up a blog sounded like just the challenge I needed.

The doubts crept up: The last thing the world needs is another food blog. What do I have to say, anyway, I’m certainly not a professional chef! I’m just a normal person who loves to cook. Would I even have enough stories to share without running out in a few weeks? With a busy career, how would I find the time?

I started making a list then and there, some of my favourite recipes that I’ve customized and made my own over the years. The incredible German and Austrian recipes I learned from Grandma. The dishes I’d made for friends where everyone wanted the recipe afterwards. I quickly had a sizeable list. It started to feel possible.

The more I thought about it, I realized that building a blog was a great way for me to combine my love of food, design and photography and push myself creatively. A place where I could document my food journey, build my own food lore, and maybe inspire some others to do the same along the way.

Do you have a favourite meal? The kind that transports you back in time, bringing a flood of memories with it? I have many, but one of my earliest food memories was Dad’s spaghetti sauce. Meaty, rich and loaded with pepperonis, he would simmer it for hours. I still remember those Saturday afternoons, the smell of it wafting through the house. Waiting for dinner seemed to take an eternity! Then we would gather, it would be served and we would and slice up our spaghetti noodles with our forks and knives (so much faster than twirling!) and dig into the family feast.

With the thousands, probably millions of recipes available online, I’ve found myself wandering aimlessly and moving too quickly from one to the next, without stopping to document and record the memorable ones to build into my own traditions. As recipes are followed and meals shared with family and loved ones, memories have their way of taking root, almost growing between the lines of the recipes themselves. I hope this blog will be an anchor to start building a timeless collection to be shared and preserved.

I’m learning as I go and would love to hear from you. What are your feasting traditions, those favourites you keep going back to? Where did you pick them up—from a beloved family member, close friend, virtual friend? And how do you organize and document your own personal food heritage?