Major pet peeve. Hate people, including so called "Celebrity Chefs," who seem stultified in their use of English and can only describe food as "DELICIOUS." (They also descibe something as "smelling or looking delicious." How can food be like that? I wonder if they all took the same "English for food 101" course. Also, do not like it when a "chef" says a recipe is from a specific country and most of the time it is not the same. Having been worked in about 70 countries, I find that many of their recipes are "westernised" and not true to the actual culture and are only their perception of the real thing. At 70, I still go to other countries, especially Thailand, for six months of the year to teach and learn. Try some real Thai "KANOME" (which are desserts) and taste the difference between "western" type Thai and the real thing. Michael Smith of Canada and Rick Stein from England are exceptions. Thanx all. 'nuf sed. FOOD in many varieties but nothing that is classified as "unclean" such as pork, shellfish, etc. That is why my students call me PLAMUK. which means SQUID, in Thai. They learn that certain things are not allowed in my kitchen and never will be. That said, the world offers me many opportunities to provide food without these things and as such my students realise that they are better for that. So what do I like to cook? Anything within my scope of eating. Thanx all. 'nuf sed. Country style from my mother who learned from her mother. My grandmother would take me down the hedgerow and pick wild vegetables, fruits, and other things (don't ask me what because now I would not eat them). During and after WWII anything went and we were better fed than most people now with their "boxes and packages" of processed foods. Now, if I cannot pronounce the ingredients it stays where I got it from, the shelf. Give me real food not that kind of stuff. I prefer to serve my customers simple, easy, and fresh ingredients they can enjoy, especially Old Country Style foods. Fancy things are out. When I teach, my students dictate what will be taught so they can increase their knlowledge in the areas they need to, although they must be prepared to defend their choices. They, in turn, teach me what I like to learn - a good agreement. What a wonderful life we have on this great planet that GOD gave us if we only take the time to thank Him and learn. Too many to mention but several banquets for over 500 at a time in different parts of the world would be included. Thanx all. 'nuf sed. Do not do this. My greatest disaster was when I began cooking, a long time ago now. I started to make a dish I really liked. Halfway through cooking the dish my mother came home. She asked what I was cooking and I told her. In my family, we were always told to eat what we prepared, and that was her comment to me. After cooking the concoction I began to eat it but found it difficult to do so as one of the ingredients was like eating gravel. She laughed and told me to go ahead, but it was impossible. She then took the plate and showed mw where I had gone wrong, simply by adding water to it. Then she explained that to make FRIED RICE the rice had to be steamed or boiled first not just put into the frying pan along with the other ingredients without precooking it. Thanx all. 'nuf sed.