I work as a chef at a nursing home earning just enough to support my family of three while my wife goes to school. Cooking is my favorite thing to do, so when I say work as a chef it sounds kind of funny to me. It's more like going to a place that will pay me to practice and experiment, and then eat what I make. I also love to eat! I have built up a reputation as being an excellent chef and people sometimes ask me where I went to school. I tell them that I learned some of the basic things at a community college and also just finished a Catering coarse on line, but what makes me good at cooking is that I am so interested in (well first of all, eating good tasting food) understanding the why's and the how's. I also learn a lot by reading recipes and using my imagination. Soups, sauces, breads, desserts and pretty much anything with alcohol My favorite family cooking tradition is the short bread that my grandfather makes every year for christmas. I have started my own thing (3 years running now) by making bourbon ball every christmas with enough to last through new years! I found a great recipe here actually. I won a baking contest with an candy apple bourbon cake a few years ago. I have also competed in at least 10 chili cook-offs and placed second 8 times to the local cooks. Their family and friends shouldn't be allowed to vote :) I have also catered 3 parties on my own and recieved great responses. I don't have enough money to start my own business, and I don't make enough as a chef to live comfortably, so I'm getting back into school to be a physical therapist.