Behind the Line: John des Rosiers
Topic: Background
It's All in the Past: Food Memories
Q: Thinking broadly, what overall influence did food have in your childhood?
I have always loved it, and always cooked with different members of my family. But I really knew it was for life the first day at Gabriel's when I was 16. That stage changed my life.
Q: Think way back to your first tasty experiences. What are your earliest memories about food?
That I ate a lot. I dont remember really us eating anything that we would think of as spectacular, but man I was a piggie!
Q: When recalling those extra-special culinary moments in life, what is your favorite food memory?
Learning to make perogi with my grandmother when I was 7. This was the when I began cooking, so it was a very important first step that would define the rest of my life.
Q: Whether you still eat it today, or it's mostly a memory, is there a dish that most reminds you of childhood?
My grandfather's chili. Always made from fresh tomatoes and fresh chilies he grew in his garden in the summer in Wisconsin.
Q: In your school days, what was your favorite lunchbox item?
Peanut Butter and banana sandwiches, but always chunky butter.
Q: Are there any foods from your childhood that you still recreate to this day?
Fried Green Tomatoes, only now they are heirlooms from the local organic farms we use. Cooked in brown butter with fresh cracked Tellicherry pepper, yum!
Q: Recall running down the street after the ice cream truck. What was your favorite treat from the ice cream truck?
Ice cream sandwich, with what i think of now as horrible fake cookie stuff that made up the sandwich part.