I first started cooking when I was about 8 years old. My mother was pregnant with my younger brother, and bedridden for months. Being homeschooled, I was home all day and took care of her and my younger sister until dad got home. This included breakfast and lunch every day. Since then I've always loved to cook. The first recipe that I conjured up on my own (I'm not a big fan of strict recipe following) is a Garlic-Rosemary Chicken that I was supremely proud of being only 13 at the time. I've been in scouting since I was very young and my love for cooking extended to Dutch Ovens, box ovens, camp stoves, and the open fire. My dad is the primary cook in the family and he and I have had many cooking rivalries over the years with us pretty much breaking even in overall quality and preparation. I've participated in multiple cook-offs at scouting events, and most recently, along with the rest of my team of 4 took first place at the 2008 Miner Chef at the Missouri University of Science and T In short... 'food' Let's see... Traditions are something we didn't have much of, but I guess my favorite would have to be dad in the kitchen. The men in my family have always been the cooks and I've always sought to continue that tradition. My greatest cooking triumph was actually a defeat. I was taking part in a dutch oven competition at a scouting event and unfortunately the rules had not been published. By the time the judges came around to our camp site there was very little left and it wasn't at its prime by any means, nor did I have anything fancy to serve it on. My Chicken and Shrimp Linguine ended up playing second fiddle to chili cheese Frito casserole served on a silver platter at the awards ceremony. I however got an honorable mention for the best food the judges had ever tasted on a campout. (see above)