I have always been a foodie.  From a young age I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen.  I grew up in a large family in a small isolated town in Northern Ontario where fresh ingredients were not always easy to obtain, especially during the winter months.  Nevertheless, I loved exploring and experimenting with recipes and if an item on the ingredient list was not available in our local grocery store, it gave me the opportunity to learn how to improvise.  I became a collector of recipes both those handed down through the family and new ones that I had either clipped and ripped from magazines, or copied from books.  My collection of recipes and cookbooks began to grow and I would periodically, reluctantly, cull what I felt I would not realistically use.

When the time came to move from the comfort and familiarity of a community of 2,500 to the anonymity of a much larger city, I revelled in the culinary possibilities that were now at my disposal.  Restaurants, kitchen stores, markets with every fresh ingredient for whatever cuisine I chose to create were now within my reach, and even the kitchens of new friends from different cultures.  Simply put, a gastronomic nirvana lay before me to explore.

I have also been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to some of the countries that I had dreamed of visiting as a child – France, Italy, Scotland and most recently Spain.  I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences and experiments as much as I will in recounting them.

Come with me and explore the culinary world.