Nice to meet you...

Hi guys,

Welcome to my blog. This will be the place where I document my passionate love affair with food, cooking and restaurants. Hopefully through following it you can discover something about me, and feed or ignite your own passion for cooking and food.

I don't know when I began to love food so much. When I was about thirteen I started reading cookbooks and my parents allowed me to cook for my whole family (uncles, aunties and all!) I just loved the planning and preparation that went into cooking for the people that I loved. I don't think what I cooked was very memorable (although my Dad did ask the the chicken and mushroom crepes years later!) It was the beginning of what would begin as a talent, develop into a hobby and grow into a passion- a passion that sometimes annoys the hell out of the people around me when I constantly insist on reading restaurant reviews, cookbooks and menu's!

Why do I leave this as just a hobby and not a career? Many people ask me this. I think the main reason is that I want it to stay a passion, I don't want to feel like cooking is a chore. I have worked in restaurants before and I have seen how quickly passion can turn to frustration. At least this way, I get to make sure I actually like the people I spend time cooking for! Plus, I really enjoy my day job of teaching... and every now and then I get to bring my passion into morning tea for the staff...

Some quick facts about my love of cooking/food-
Favourite Cuisine: I don't think I can choose between Vietnamese and Thai. I love to eat and cook both!
Best food experience I have had: Many of the Vietnamese restaurants I ate at in Vietnam... Longrain in Melbourne... The 'feed me' option at Chin Chin. Maha.
Favourite Ingredients: Chili, Lime, Coriander, Garlic, Ginger- these are the bases of most of my recipes!
Meal I cook most often: Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup... with cumin. This is amazing. I love the way the scent fills up the house. I leave mine nice and thick! Or, any kind of Asian noodle soup- be it pho, laksa, pork, dumpling... whatever!
Favourite kind of eating experience: a long dinner with good company, good wine and three courses... I am almost immune to ever skipping dessert!
Food Idols: Shane Delia, Neil Perry, Jamie Oliver, Marian Grasby, Matt Moran... many many more!

I'm sure you will discover all the above facts and more through reading this blog... I hope to amuse and inspire!

Enjoy!