Mme. Diat: The Why

When I was in 7th grade, I took my first job at the rectory adjacent to my school. My duties were simple, I was kitchen staff. I was meant to answer the phones and the door, take messages, serve and clean up dinner, and assist in cooking. It was during these seven years as staff at the St. Leonard rectory that I developed my passion for cuisine.

I remember working with Louise, a fiery Italian woman from the south side of Chicago, who would tell me, "a pinch of onion and a pinch of garlic. You can't go wrong with a pinch of onion and a pinch of garlic." Sitting in that kitchen with the warmth from two ovens and a stove filling the room, listening to her describe how to make the perfect soup stock or how to create her family marinara you would picture a child sitting at the feet of their grandparent. To be honest, that's how it felt. Louise taught me that cooking was more than just a cup of water combined with a pinch of salt. There was a heart and soul to each dish that you gave to the people sharing in it. She took me in as a daughter and passed onto me family recipes brought with her mother from Italy.

There comes a moment when the student must become the teacher. When I left the warm hearth of that rectory kitchen, I knew that for me, it was time.

When my best friend who, as undomesticated as she is tries- with all of her heart, presented me with a brand new cookbook and a plan, all I could do was smile. Normally, my best friend is contented with pretzels and applesauce for dinner. So when she proposed that we cook our way through Jacques Pépin's favorite recipes, I knew that there was no way I could say no. When the two of us get together, it is always an adventure and I knew that this trek into squab, tripe, clam chowder, and the delicious desert section would be no different.

Harriet Van Horne wrote, "Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." Over 10 years ago, my passion for cooking was bore out of a friendship that I will not soon forget. Today, I know that another friendship will create some dishes that will soon not be forgotten.