It is ALWAYS about integrity, flat out. Cooking, as in all aspects of life, is a direct reflection of what you put into it. Satisfied with garbage? Cut corners at your own peril by settling for something less. Over time, shortcuts seem more palatable, and extra effort seems to be a waste of energy.

Cooking, or the preparation of food, is the very most basic of human tasks performed for survival. Its really the first measure of just how lazy a slug you’ve become through years of sitting in a quasi vegetative state watching TV, absorbing shockingly obscene doses of mind numbing shows like “the Hills”, or the “House Wives of Who gives a Crap”. Of course, “No Reservations” and the Travel Channel represent the pinnacle of the medium, and should be revered for their educational contributions to society and moral high ground, but I digress…

Cooking well represents the sum total of your experiences during your very short time on this beautiful little mud ball we all share. It is, at the end of the day, a reflection of who you are, what you’ve seen and experienced, and most of all what have you learned.

Taking the time to speak to people that grow, sell, cook and serve you food. Having a genuine interest in the hows, whys and best ways. Avoiding at all cost the monolithic empires that are so big, they really don’t care about the eradication of small farms, bakers, butchers and people who skills were developed over a life time, and the loss of which, through age and economics, damages us all. Learn what they do, do it for yourself, and pass it along.

Travel to places that you love and eat in places that make you uncomfortable. Spend 5 minutes outside the Ritz and grab a bite someplace where there is nobody that looks like you, and discover things your pals at the country club will never understand. Again, learn something and share it. “ I ate this in X, it was prepared by a Y wearing a (insert native garb) and it was amazing. Mr./Mrs. So and So said the secret was (insert FDA prohibited ingredient) and that’s why I snuck it into the country and cooked it for you, my ungrateful hangers on and posers. Best to not mention the two days of diarrhea that followed.

Teach a man to fish……….

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