If there is one thing in my life that I always looked forward to, it was learning from Konky and Grandma with how to approach the kitchen, how to learn as much as I could so I could one day put food on the table for my loved ones. I still remember the first cooking lesson Konky shared with me. It was a Sunday morning. Konky and I woke up and he wanted to show me the ropes on how to make his most favorite food: crepes. His mother taught him how to make crepes and now it was my turn at age 9.
Grandma made some mean sandwiches while Konky was a wizard in the kitchen with his soups and chowders. The Summer BBQ's were extravagant with all the seafood you could get your hands on. The holidays were just simply magical. Helping in the kitchen was the greatest feeling ever! I dont think the grocery store never quite understood the battles in the kitchen to keep people away from the deviled eggs. We must have had a good six or seven dozen eggs in our grocery cart for every holiday grocery list. Hands were slapped when we saw them reaching for the completed deviled eggs!
I think the most memorable for me was learning about Konky's way of cooking. He always believed a cookbook cannot teach you how to train your palate nor does it train you how to cook with feeling or know "when to say when". A recipe is merely a guideline of someone else's palate. Konky made a point of clarifying though that there are things like ratios you do need to know when you want to make things like sauces, marinades, and vinaigrettes. When it comes to cooking, creating dishes and such, you have to have a good palate and not be afraid to taste-test as you go. When it comes to baking, you are required to follow within the confines of a standardized recipe, due to the Chemistry that is applied.
Every time I head to my kitchen, I always apply the tricks taught to me from Konky and Grandma. When I head to a professional kitchen working with established or created menus, I know that with a strong palate, I know when to tell if a recipe was not made correctly or when the recipe is a great success!
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