Well, i was born and raised in Canada by parents from Greece. My mother left when I was three, so i was raised by my lovely grand-mother. Thanks to her, I can speak Greek and cook traditional Greek cuisine. My father was always and still is in his restaurant, which gave me plenty of experience as a young kid in the kitchen. I decided at the age of 16 that I would leave the kitchen and work in the front of the house, being a busboy and then eventually a waiter and bartender. I enoy cooking more than ever and I am always open to new recipes and ideas. I am currently in Spain and working in Gibraltar for an online sports bookmaker - www.stanjames.com - in the Canadian department. Good times! Great chance to have some albondigas and paella while I am in Spain. Most of the time, there's nothing more satisfying than coming home and whipping up something quick and delicious. I love cooking Italian cuisine. I use alot of pesto and red pepper pesto. At times, making some Thai or Indian food gives me pleasure...especially when I nail it! Lemongrass and ginger...and some nice hot curry! Salads and pasta salads are also fun! I haven't had many chances to cook a 'whole lamb on a spit', but did so in 2004 while I was in Greece. It took hours, and alot of love went into basting that tasty lamb. The juices we're sealed in and it was something I'll never forget. In the future, I plan on having a spit of my own...for holidays like easter and large gatherings. OPA! Greek cuisine.... My grandmother taught me at a young age that good food takes time to prepare. She hand rolls her phyllo dough, and at 90 years old, she still rolls it out to make her famous 'spanakopita'. There's another traditional dish that we make called 'horta' which uses endives or dandelion greens. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on top and you have a very healthy meal. She would save the juice from the cooking process which is very healthy to drink. Fassolia me patates ( a green bean and potato stew in tomato sauce ) is proof that greek cuisine can be inexpensive, healthy and delicious. BREAD! I triumphed one late summer night a few years ago when I finally made a loaf of bread. Sounds simple? Well for some it could be...but I poured thru dozens of recipes from the internet and cookbooks....and not once did the I nail it...until that night. It was delicious and since then, I've been pretty consistent. :-) Burning food. Getting distracted...and burning something that has already taken a couple of hours out of your life...and not being able to eat it. It's devastating. One such tragedy comes to mind when i bought 110 dollars worth of Atlantic halibut...put it in the oven...started having a few drinks while enjoying the sun and working the BBQ...when suddenly, I remembered what was in the oven...dried halibut anyone??