That is me at about 7 years old in my Omi's restaurant. She owned it for 21 years - it was an authentic German restaurant and she made the best. People still run into me and talk about her food today. She passed away last year. I loved her, and her food very much.
I grew up in that restaurant and I can't express how valuable it was to me, and how much I wish to share that love of food with everyone, and hope to pass a similar experience onto my own children someday. I was put to 'work' starting when I could walk practically. My first job was peeling potatoes -and I was dang good at it. I 'washed' dishes (more like played with bubbles in the sink), made what I called 'kinky' cookies (basically sugar cookies that are fed through a meat grinder like device to make a tube shaped cookie and we would arrange them in weird shapes), and I dusted and vacuumed. Eventually I took orders, cooked apple streusel with her, learned key techniques like keep the stove on medium heat and don't rush pan frying of breaded meats!
So I learned some valuable restaurant and home management techniques, but I also learned how to make things from scratch, how to appreciate that effort, and how to express myself with food. I look back on it now and I think wow, I was so young when I started running around in that kitchen. I got yelled at for getting in the way don't get me wrong (Omi wasn't exactly the sweet southern kind of grandma ;) ) but imagine how important I felt being able to have a job in the kitchen and participate in bringing all that joy to people.
My heartfelt story comes to you because I wanted to share that the kitchen is a place where big things can happen - for kids and adults. It is a place of expression, sharing, love, satiation. It's just a dang good place to be. I don't know if my Omi or parents ever thought growing up in the restaurant would impact me like it did, but I can tell you that my friends who had similar experiences share the same healthy love of food I do, and I will go on record saying it has a huge impact.
By the way, thanks Mom for cutting my bangs....using scotch tape as a guide.....kidding, they don't look that bad :)
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