My husband and I own this small, quaint restaurant in a booming city/town in Colorado. I did not get serious with food and cooking until we became restauranteurs. Still, career in food for an Asian female who already succeeded in corporate America is something completely crazy...just ask my family and my husband's family...They think I should continue with the corporate track and maybe be some kind of high-paying and stressful consultant. Needless to say, I have done those and still something nagging me about not doing what I think I was born to do! But owning and operating and marketing a restaurant alone still do not give me the challenge and the excitement I am searching for. Then, one day, a briliant man came into our life. His name was Sam Arnold - he owned the famous The Fort in Colorado. Until I met him, I did not know who he was, what The Fort was and that they hosted a G7 summit there! That goes to tell you how much I kept up with the food scene in Colorado (or every where else for that matter!). He saw something in me and told me I should do everything related to food: cooking classes, blogging, review restaurants, write cook books, be on TV...I was overwhelmed and thought that he was just a dreamer.
Of course, Sam was a visionary and a dreamer - without those, there would be no The Fort! But I kept thinking that he thought too highly of me...I would never be and do what he thinks I am capable of...Well, it has been close to a year since his passing. I started writing a cook book in Februay 2007 as I wanted to honor his memory. A cook book was the second thing he told me to get done. He encouraged me to teach cooking and I did it! Looking back at my previous cooking class's hand-outs; I was lousy! Sam was at most of the classes. I think he was there just to give me a boost to my confidence and to let me know it mattered. It mattered to him that once he gave an idea, if I do them, it mattered to him! Sp, now I teach classes at least 3 or 4 times per month. And very often, I think of him while teaching the classes. So, now on to the second thing Sam told me to get done...
The process to write a cook book was slow as I had no idea what I was doing, although I had a particular idea in mind as to what my cook book is to include and how it should be printed. I also learned to publish the book myself - it is a scary thought - but I just need to get the book done to say that I have done it and know how hard it is! Now is almost the end of May and there are times I think I would just forget about this whole crazy idea of a cook book. Sam is not here to bug me to get it accomplished or to hold me accountable. Although I have done and tested 18 recipes, I still have about 32 more to go! I need to get going. Today is yet another day that I was at home working on my cook book. I completed cooking and taking pictures of Tom Yum Gai (my favorite Thai soup!) and I started going through the list of things Sam said I should be doing. Thus, this post came about. He used to say to me that as technology-savvy as I am, I should blog to share my thoughts (to those who care to know or listen) and to have the support I needed - even from strangers. So, this is to start my journey and I wanted to share with you. I know I will need encouragement and kick-in-the-butt sometimes to keep moving and going. I will keep you posted with what my book is about and my thought each day as I am going through this journey.
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