Found this site and really love it.
I have loved to cook since I was 6 years old. When I turn 14 I got a prep/dishwashing job at a Mom/Pop style supper club and by the time I was 16 I was running the kitchen on the busiest nights pushing out 300+ meals as the only line cook. After that I went to work as a 1st cook at a gourmet restaurant at a famous resort.
Once I turned 18 I didn't work as a cook and only did it as a hobby.
One of the things I love to do is cook. Everyone I cook for says "why don't you work in a restaurant, the food you make is so wonderful"
Well I say "there are two thing I love to do in life, one is to cook and bake great food, the other is to build buildings. It is a very expensive hobby to build buildings so for a profession I build large commercial and industrial buildings, for fun I cook"
I am mostly turned off by a lot of food served today in the restaurants. Most places seem to employ "can and boil in the bag technicians", rather than actual cooks and chefs. Every once in a while I do find some really great places that have a great board of fare, but the chain places are a big disappointment.
I love to cook things old school and from scratch. I have a collection of over 100 cook books and most are from pre 1960. I go to estate sales and garage sales to find the really old ones. I have found so many lost cooking techniques that have really expanded my range of cooking.
Glad to be here this is going to be fun :)