We have been blown away by the creativity of the recipes submitted to the Soup Challenge thus far. And we had a hunch that, behind these wonderful recipes, there were some folks who are incredibly passionate cooks with rich culinary stories to tell. And boy, were we right!

Over the next week, you will get to know these talented cooks through a three-part series. In part two the entrants reveal their “not so secret” kitchen tips and tricks, and in part three you will learn what inspires the entrants to cook. In this first post, we explore the people– as well as the trials and tribulations—that made them the cooks they are today.

Many of the Soup Challenge entrants began cooking at a very young age, and many attribute their skills to cooking with their loved ones.  We think it’s fair to say that, regardless of who introduced the entrants to the culinary world, and despite the nuances that make each of their backgrounds different, their stories come together under the notion that food is a currency of love…

Cindy, Amy and Jamie give credit to their mother. As Jamie recalls, “Growing up she would always have me and my siblings in the kitchen either rolling out cookies or mixing the cake batter.”

“My mom was a great cook and baker and I learned at a young age to cook. […] Not only was my mom a great cook but so was my dad. They are both gone and cooking makes me think of both of them.” Linda

 

“I learned to cook from my mother and her sisters. As I was growing up, cooking and creating various recipes had always been a major part of every holiday or family get-together. I used to be taste-tester of anything my mom made and she is one heck of a cook. Making huge, tasty meals for our family and relatives was her favorite thing to do.” Vidya

“Other than earlier adventures with an Easy Bake Oven, I really began cooking and baking with my Great Grandmother when I was about 8 years old. She, my Grandmother and Mother were all wonderful cooks! […] I feel fortunate to have been around others who enjoyed cooking and baking the old-fashioned way - because of them I came to love the process of creating good food.” Lisa

 

“Growing up I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmothers and my mom and dad. We ate very fresh, simple food that was all homemade.” Lisa”

” I grew up learning to cook in the kitchen with my mom and aunt.  My aunt lived with my family until I was 8.  On the weekends she would watch me as my parents worked.  We watched the cooking shows together and created our own recipes for dinner based off of what we watched. As I grew older, the more adventurous I became with trialing recipes and each meal was a new cooking experience.” Rachael

“My mother always encouraged us to help in the kitchen growing up and taught me the basics of cooking. Over the years, I have been growing and learning in my skills through experimentation. […] I enjoy exotic spices and unique textures and try to incorporate unique flavor combinations when I cook.” Cheryl

“Cooking with my Mom and Grandmom was recreation for us when we were kids. In elementary school, when reports on foreign countries were assigned, we often researched the country and culture and made our reports by making sweets from whichever country we were assigned.” Robin

“When I think back to my childhood, it was all about food, gardening and chores. Everything was natural and simple. I’ve noticed in today’s crazy economy, people are going back to the basics. Everything comes full circle!” Emanuella

 

“I learned to cook in my parents’ tiny country store. We made soup, sandwiches and grinders for the lunch crowd.” Beryl

“My grandmother is a great cook and my family always jokes that she can have a meal ready for an army in 20 minutes flat. My first memories of cooking are with her.” Dana

Dianna recalls, “I learned to cook when I was real little, probably about 6 years old. […] Mom always made her meals from scratch and I was always involved somehow with the meal. I remember many a time that mom would have me run to her garden and gather ingredients for the nights’ meals. Mom always cooked by the “Little Bit of This” method.”

And she’s not the only one who was taught by the “little bit of this” method. Charlene, who “learned to cook in the trenches,” fondly recalls learning from her mother:   “Before I got married I asked her to sit down and give me all the recipes she made that I loved. It was very difficult as she used ‘a pinch of this and a bit of that’, hardly equating to a scientific recipe. But together we managed to eek out the recipe.”

For some, ‘necessity was the mother of …’ learning.

Teresa developed her skills, “at home, cooking for my siblings while my parents worked.” Like Teresa, other entrants found that this was a “necessity” they deeply enjoyed:

“Started cooking when I was in college, FSU, out of necessity, began to like it and still do, especially now that I am retired.” Andre

“I learned to cook as a teenager—my mother had to work so it was often up to me to make supper. She was often too tired and was happy to have something on the table when she got home.” Lesley

“I learned to cook when I was still a kid. After my parents split up, my (working) mom put me in charge of preparing dinner as she didn’t usually get home from work until late. I learned a few basic dishes and grew from there. Otherwise I’m mostly self-taught from cookbooks, TV, etc.” Jasmin

Elinor and Stephanie are also self-taught:

“I taught myself by trial and error. I have known the basics since I was a child, but I began to experiment with different cuisines after trying dishes in restaurants and attempting to recreate them at home. The Internet is such a valuable tool in cooking- you can find a recipe for anything you want if you look hard enough!” Elinor

“I’ve been watching cooking shows and reading recipe books since grade school. […] I also watched my mom and grandma in the kitchen growing up, both great cooks, and learned from them as well. I’ve always had a passion for food as long as I can remember!” Stephanie

Jen “avoided studying in college by watching PBS cooking shows and picked up a pretty good culinary education from those early, not-so-gimmicky shows, learning knife skills and how to build flavors in a dish.”

Either sourced from the wellspring of shared experiences or necessity, all aspiring cooks need “guinea pigs” to test the emerging art of their creations … to be the graceful, encouraging recipient of those inevitable “fails”, as Amy as aptly put it.

Both Amy and Felice particularly recall their fathers’ willingness to be those guinea pigs:

“Although I still haven’t mastered all of [my grandmother’s] specialties, I keep on trying! Nothing is better than when my dad (after being a good sport and trying all the ‘fails’) says a recipe tastes just like his mom made.” Amy

“My aunt, who raised me and cooked for us, was truly an awful cook. She and food simply were not on speaking terms. If I wanted to eat better, I needed to learn to cook for myself.  […] I can’t tell you, though, how many incredibly bad meals my father bravely choked down before I figured out what I was doing in the kitchen. He is a true hero for putting up with that.” Felice

We love the eloquence and essential, simple wisdom of the entrants’ stories. As Robin so eloquently summarizes it for all of us, “Food is love, need I say more?”

Stay tuned for Parts II and III “Making of a Soup Challenge Entrant” later in this week!