Cooking is one of my favorite ways to de-stress. My love of cooking all began when I was very young and my dad decided to teach me. I stuck to the basics like pancakes, eggs and boiling pasta. However, as I grew up I got better and better. Soon, I learned how to make all different kinds of sauces, and before I knew it I was cooking dinner all by myself.

My dad's skills as a chef started, like me, as a child in his grandfather's restaurant. He learned a lot from his grandfather's Italian recipes. I guess you can say it was a tradition. My great-grandfather taught his daughter - my grandmother - and my father everything he knew about cooking, then he passed it down to me. Along the way other cultures were thrown into the mix when someone married into the family. I know some French recipes from my grandfather, some Irish from my mom's side, but mostly Italian from my grandmother and great-grandfather.

When it came time to choose my senior year classes this past winter, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I decided to take Culinary Arts as one of my electives. As an underclassman, I would walk by the kitchen in school and smell the aroma of real food, rather than cafeterias french fries. I saw the students cooking in their aprons and hats, and knew I would take the class when I finally had the chance. I was the oldest member of the class and, initially, I didn't feel comfortable with my classmates or the elementary lessons, but I really warmed up to the experience and began

Advertisement
to work as a great team member.

At home, I was trying some new recipes and making dinner almost every night with my dad. I'd watch the Food Network before bed to see famous chefs create incredible dishes way beyond my abilities. Then, every time I'd visit either pair of grandparents, I get a little cooking lesson.

I believe that food really brings my family together and I am proud to say it will most definitely be passed down to my own family one day. Like pictures, recipes preserve the time, and the love my family has always had over a great home cooked meal.

Kayleigh Blanchette is a senior at Masuk High School in Monroe, and an assistant editor of CTTeens. You may reach her at ctteens@ctpost.com.