Taste, Food, and Love

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     My childhood was heavily embedded with notions of food equating to love. My grandmother is the type of person who asks if you're hungry as soon as you come in the door, and isn't satisfied until she sees that you're properly fed. She taught me almost everything I know about cooking, and says that one of the greatest acts of love is feeding and taking care of the people who mean the most to you. When I was around 10-11 she opened a small catering business out of her home to show her love not just to family but to her community, and the small town of Pembroke, Georgia has been blessed with homemade bread, peanut butter bars, and chicken salad ever since. 

    Because of my grandmother, food is how I express my love to the people I care about. Whether that's cooking dinner for my family, baking something on a whim for a friend, or working food service as I have my whole life, food is a way to give back. Knowing that you're taking care of people and making them happy is one of the best feelings, and I love being able to serve my community the way my grandmother does. 

    While I am not religious in the traditional sense, I do view food and eating as a religious experience. Food is something that engages all of the senses, and the ability to share the stimulation of those senses with other people is part of what makes it so very special. 




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