What I Learned From Good Ol’ Mom

 image:  www.amazon.com

One of the biggest influences in our lives is good ol’ mom.  They wipe our noses, love us unconditionally and teach us about the world around us.  Many of us have fond recipes of time with mom in the kitchen (I remember every Christmas making cookies for Santa) or how she made us feel better with our favorite comfort food.  It seems that many of the famous chefs were either influenced by their mother or grandmother.

Editor Chris Styler pulled together stories and recipes from a variety of chefs.  From Nigella Lawson being dropped off to spend some time with her grandmother to Jamie Oliver spending time with his parents at their local pub, chefs share their stories and recipes from or in tribute to their maternal influence in the new cookbook, Mom’s Secret Recipe File.

From Epicurious:

There’s nothing like slaving over a hot stove—let alone a professional kitchen—to make you appreciate your mother. Gourmet’s executive chef, Sara Moulton, credits her mom as a big career influence, remembering how the duo cooked their way through Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cookbook when Sara was in junior high. Mediterranean chef extraordinaire Todd English still makes his mother’s Gooey Chocolate Cake—known to bring his staff running with gallons of milk in hand. And it turns out everything Italian restaurateur Pino Luongo knows about taste he got from his madre.

These are just a few of the dozens of culinary stars who talk about their moms’ cooking and share recipes in Chris Styler’s book Mom’s Secret Recipe File. In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re highlighting five chef/mom pairs from the book and including a recipe from each.

The idea may seem a little gimmicky, but Publisher’s Weekly says, “this collection transcends its own gimmickry. The chefs’ anecdotes are truly engaging, telling of wise and clever female relations (”mother” is loosely defined) who fling wide the doors of their kitchens for their charges like fairy godmothers. These are simple recipes, for the most part-true comfort foods, as remembered by a chef’s inner child.”

Mom’s Secret Recipe File can be found at booksellers and Amazon.