Kat: Plater, photographer, and most importantly – the consumer.

Although I grew up the youngest of four, I never considered myself to be a particularly “spoiled” child. However, there was one area of my life where I had it pretty great: food. I know (almost) everyone thinks their mom is the best cook in the world, but my mom is a legitimately good chef. Ask anyone who has eaten her food. I was equally spoiled at my best friend’s house. While in her household her dad was the ‘head chef,’ her mom was also an excellent cook. Like my house, this household had a cabinet full of spices. There was no microwave popcorn, Swiss Miss hot chocolate, or Kraft Mac and Cheese, everything was made from scratch. The first question I asked every time I walked through the door was, “what did you have for dinner last night?” As I crossed the kitchen to the fridge, I knew whether it was homemade pizza, or my favorite – rosemary venison, I would find something delicious.

Needless to say, by the time I left home and ventured off to… boarding school, I was a bit spoiled in the food department. While the dining hall excelled in some areas, there were some nights I grumbled that there was simply “nothing to eat.” It was on one of those nights that my parents happened to be visiting. After staring blankly at the hot food options, I grumpily made myself a sandwich and met my parents at one of the long wooden tables. Sitting down I looked at my mother’s plate and asked her, bewildered, “where did you get that?? That looks good!” She hesitated and replied “um… in the same line you were just in.” That was when I learned the importance of plating. What was seemingly unappetizing in the row of hot trays looked delicious on my mom’s plate. I learned the lesson quickly and began to enjoy my food much more. My own plate quickly became the one at the table that my friends asked about… “oh, that looks good!” It didn’t even have to look fancy, by any means. Just a simple variety of protein, veg and carb could look great next to each other. The more colors the better.

To wrap things up (because I could really go on and on), I’ve always been somewhat of a “foodie.” Not the sophisticated, Michelin star restaurant kind, but just someone who really truly enjoys food. Chances are if you ask me about a particular day in the past, I will remember it around the meals I ate. Unfortunately, it can taint a memory or a day in either direction. My former partner of 8 years used to always say, if Kat is grumpy or having a bad day, I know I need to feed her something good. Good food = good mood.

It was when Hus first cooked for me that I thought… damn, this guy could be “the one.” On top of everything else he had going for him, he could also cook?!? And not just someone who is capable of cooking (like myself), but someone who truly excels at it. You can really tell that he loves to cook, and you can taste it in every bite. So, a couple of years later, hundreds of iPhone food pics, and too many delicious meals to count… I’ve decided to team up with one of my all-time favorite chefs (don’t worry Mom, you’re still at the very top), and create a blog. I know every time Hus cooks for our friends they ask us how he does it… well friends (and strangers) this blog is for you!