I have been cooking since I was six years old (for over 45 years). For the past 15 years I been been a team organizer for a competitive barbecue team (Shawhan Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ). We compete every year in the world's largest barbecue contest, the American Royal. This year our team won 4th place in the potatoes category with a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. My family comes from Ireland and every year around Christmas we all bake meat pies. These are small tart sized pies that contain a combination of lamb and pork baked inside a pastry crust. The baked pies are then boiled in broth until they are soft then they are served in a bowl with pepper. It has been a tradition to serve these pies to friends and relatives for over a 100 years. I cooked my very first meal when I was 7 years old. It was a rump roast with potatoes and carrots. My mother coached me, but I did all the work. After that, I was hooked.