Biography

During this strange and trying time in our lives, we begin to go
through cupboards and closets, hoping to restore and organize, get
something done . Anything ! So, I opened a wardrobe cupboard and found
every Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazine since the early seventies. Why
on earth did I keep them ?? With a passion for cooking at a very early
age , I became obsessed with these magazines and anxiously awaited
their arrival every month, pulling out every intoxicating recipe I
could !  I had been making up recipes since I was ten and was cooking
most of the family dinners by thirteen . My mom was a wonderful cook
but she came to enjoy not having to be ! As a young stay at home mom,
I began to duplicate these recipes and make special candlelight
dinners for my young husband every Friday night . And to this day we
still enjoy this little ritual !
Then my wonderful Mom gave me a book that changed my life ! "HOW TO
TURN YOUR KITCHEN INTO A GOLD MINE"  It was a book that told of young
entrepreneurs with a passion for cooking that turned  this passion to
gold . I was hooked ! Not on the thoughts of gold so much as to think
I could create a whole career based on something I loved so much! I
was off to the races ! I put an ad in the local paper and a month
later I catered a wedding for seventy five people ! Unfortunately ,
one hundred seventy -five people came and we ran out of food (the
bride's mother was off on her numbers)  but other than that, I was
thrilled ! My catering career had begun !
Besides being a true Foodie back then, I was also obsessed with great
coffee. I love the smell, the ambiance , everything about it ! This
was all ten or twelve years preStarbucks. . There was a tiny little
shop in town that sold  many types of exotic coffees, teas and spices.
I loved everything about it and when I found out it was for sale, my
Mom helped me buy it with my young sister . To this day, I can still
remember the  enticing smell of that little shop, a combination of
fresh coffees and spices. So ahead of its time ! We served big
sandwiches and soups and cheesescake and of course , wonderful coffee
! It became very popular but after two years and both my sister and I
with young babies, we  had to sell it, not knowing what the future
held for the world of coffee ! I continued to cater from home. My
sweet husband built me a separate kitchen just for this and I juggled
my time raising my two little boys and establishing a name for myself.
I soon outgrew that kitchen and in 1988 I opened my first
Catering/Takeout shop in a local mall, just minutes from my home. My
sister later joined me as a partner and eventually took it over
herself. Today, all these years later, it is bigger and better than
ever, probably the number one catering company in the area ! I am very
proud of her !
But, even before this , I began teaching cooking classes, first in
people's homes and then I approached a local winery. People would go
on a wine tour and  I would do a cooking presentation .There would be
about forty-five people and to this day, I don't know where I got the
nerve !After that, we eventually built a new, very large kitchen to
accommodate classes in my home. And these classes ran for about
fifteen years !
During the course of my career, I put three of my best recipes on the
market.The first was  Filo pastries, long before they were available
anywhere else. I discovered Filo in my Bon Appetit in the seventies
and was totally intrigued by it. I made Spinach Pies, Seafood Pies and
Cheese Pies and a chain of department grocery stores ordered them
from me ! No money to be made there for all that work ! And the public
was not ready for Filo Pastries, if you can believe that !
Then I found a recipe for Dill Beer Bread (also Bon Appetit). It was a
simple dry mix that you add a bottle of beer to and create a rustic,
wonderful loaf ! I decided to market this for Expo 86 ! My mom and
husband worked with me on this one . I created two more flavors, Herb
and Cinnamon and had them packaged in cute, colorful boxes. We
presented them to a trendy boutique beer company, Granville Island
Brewery and they agreed to sponsor us with their name and GRANVILLE
ISLAND  BEER BREAD was born ! ( about a month too late for the Expo 86
souvenir deadline). Even so, it did well and and we eventually sold
it. That was a long time ago but more recently, I presented my very
special Chocolate Chip Crisp Cookie to a trendy food chain and they
loved them ! But, once again, no money to be made here for all the
hard work ! You go to Starbucks and think nothing of paying $2.50 for
a cookie but try charging more than .50 cents in a grocery store, even
a trendy, upscale one, and no takers ! Those three ventures were the
hardest part of my career and the least profitable ! Just watch
Dragons Den for proof here !
I didn't stop there. I published a cookbook, had a spot on BCTV as the
first SATURDAY MORNING CHEF for four years and opened two small
bistros.
So, that book my precious Mom gave me,  took me on quite a culinary
journey ! Did I discover a Gold Mine ? Not really. But I discovered
parts of me I never knew existed. I discovered  opportunities and
experiences doing exactly what I loved to do ! And now, I realize  why
I kept all those treasured magazines of long ago. I want to share
these timeless, tried and true  recipes, as  they lead me on yet
anther path . I love to cook and I love to write ! It's time to BLOG !
Stay tuned !