are you a self-taught foodie?

[luvs]

i am to some extent...
my Dad is an awesome cook, but he only makes these relatively-primitive sort of dishes.
my Mom, gulp... well, she TRIES her best not to burn instant rice....
:oops:
Grandpa cooks some great comfort food. for some reason, bacon is more crispy and cabbage soup is just more mushy at Grandpa's. :) it's always just right.
i'm a really good cook, but have been a cooking junkie for about as long as i have known how to read.
i learned a few basics from my family.
i learned all of my gourmet stuff on my own.

[choclatechef]

I am not a "gourmet" cook, I am a traditional soul food cook.

I was not self taught, although I am still learning. I was fortunate enough to have many wonderful relatives [primarily my mother and paternal grandmother] teach me.

I don't really want to become a gourmet cook either. I just want to be the best soul food cook I can.

[SizzlininIN]

Mom was an awesome cook and she taught me a lot. But I've learnt a great deal through trial and error. Plus, the cooking shows have really broadened my cooking realm. I used to only stick to familar flavors/ingredients, but now I'm inclined to try other things.
Dad.....well as a child his part of contributing to cooking was adding beer to whatever mom had on the stove when she turned her back. So needless to say us kids didn't mind because we'd end up getting Mikey D's (McDonalds). For the last 10 years though he's taken it a bit more seriously and he can fix an awesome smoked turkey, baked ham, and ham & beans.

[buckytom]

i was raised with great cooks; mine and my friend's moms, and i have always loved food, so when i got my first job, i would go out to restaurants as much as possible to enjoy the good eats. after a few years of dining out all the time, i decided to try to duplicate some of the things i'd enjoyed in restaurants at home. and a foodie was born...
i still eat out or get take out from restaurants a few times a week, and love to try new things. i now order entree's that i would or could not make at home...

[Vegas Girl]

My mom was a real good cook, but she never taught me. I learned on my own, kept getting better, and I would now consider myself a very good cook. My son and boyfriend never complain!

[SusanaGo24]

My mom is a good cook when it comes to her food, She is Dominican and makes great domincan dishes. I am still trying to perfect Arroz con Pollo
( Chicken and Rice )
I learned lots from cooks on TV, mostly Foodnetwork/PBS.

I grew up with a brother who is a "natural" when it comes to food and everyone loved his dishes, when i attempted they were not so great. So i stopped. :?

Until i became a Mami for the first time 3 yrs ago. :) I wanted to feed my Angel good stuff so i learned, listened, tried etc...Now my kitchen is a fun place with lots of "toys" LOL...

Sus~ :D

[vilasman1]

i was a typical boy, skinny yet able to eat everything that wasnt nailed down, the best cooks I knew cooked at church so i found myself in the kitchen taking care of the leftovers and washing the dishes. The same to ladies also cateered so I was off to help with that...taking care of the left overs. Then I went to High School. Leftovers and dishes. Then I started dating west indians which broaden my culinary horizons. Then when I finally got tired of chasing and dating and playing head games... being a good cook was one of the entrance requirements and I kept on meeting girls that were proud of the fact that they could't boil water without burning up a pan. Now mind you I had my first Wok and food processor and boat motor and even my first knives and cast iron 10-15 years before I even thought about getting married... seriously thinking....
Anyway the good Lord sent me this girl who's granddaddy was a chef and whoose mom and aunts love to cook and she loves to cook as well or at least she used to. She loves to cook cleaning is another story.
Anyway to make a long story slightly shorter 2 or 3 things conspired to start me cooking.
First she got pregnant, somehow...:) and she wouldn't eat bad food so I had to start trying. Sometimes I had to make, try to make an omelet 3 times in one morning. We lost that child but next time I want to be ready.
2nd thing was my wife never wants to eat the same thing more than 3 times and/or twice in a row. That mind set has rubbed off on me so now everyday or every other day someone has to cook and I have more free time than she does.
3rd thing was , I just love the process of cooking, cause i will cook things that I wont eat. That must be crazy.
I am working on being a gour-met learning here, from my wife, I will probably be the only guy in the kitchen at my In laws on thanksgiving and I am dvd-ing alton brown as I write this.

[WayneT]

Yes. My father was a Chef but left home when I was a baby, although we did catch up later in life.
Mum used to walk several miles to scrub floors and do housework once or twice a week for people to feed us five kids.
When I was a lad of about 13 or 14 I started, on my own initiative, and probably out of appreciation, getting the evening meal ready so my mum could have a little time to herself when she came home.
That's how it started. Now my wife has taken over from my mum, reaping the benefits of my indulgences in the kitchen.
I probably inherited something from my father. One of my boys is a Chef and I like to think, may be he got some influence from me.

[PolishedTopaz]

LOL to Vilas, learning to cook to meet chicks is a first for me to hear.

I am self taught all the way, mom was 'old school british' when it came to cooking, and I never really cared for her cooking. Dad was gone. After I got married I started collecting food stuff [all-clad, henkles ect] and POOF passion for food soon followed. DH jokes with me about it......I look upon food as an art form, he is an 'eat to live' eater whereas I am a 'live to eat'. I love food, everything about it is inspiring to me, the smell, taste, feel, texture and flavor. I am a true foodie through and through.

[Leaf Storm]

I taught myself but a friend of mine that is a really wonderful cook and taught me many things!

Anyway, I have always loved food. The colours, the scents, the sounds of sizzles and the bubbles and obviously the tastes. Food is great because it engages all of the senses.

I think if you like food you will naturally want to learn more and more.