Introducing the Artisan Foods Winterim leaders:

Hello, I am Mrs. Sands,

I inherited my passion for cooking from my Mimi, my father’s mother. My favorite time of year when when Mimi flew up from Georgia and would spend two weeks with us over the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve she would wake up early in the morning and begin to cook Christmas dinner for my father’s side of the family. I would love to watch her spend the day moving effortlessly throughout the kitchen. When I become old enough to help her cook, she began teaching me how to make several of the dishes she prepared for Christmas dinner. The gift she really gave me was confidence in the kitchen. To this day I love to cook. More recently I have familiarized myself with local, organic and artisan foods. I look forward meeting several local vendors who have followed their passion and hope to learn how they gained their confidence in this industry.

In the next few weeks we will have the opportunity to taste, create and discover a variety of artisan foods. It is my hope to expand my knowledge of the artisan food industry.

My favorite food has and always will be anything Italian and all things pasta! My Grammy, my father's stepmother perfected my Great Nona’s bolognese. My Grammy shared this recipe with my mom who shared it with me and my sister. I have made adjustments over the years but keep the base of the sauce the same. When I was in grade school I remember being able to smell the sauce cooking as soon as I stepped off the bus. Pasta night with Nona’s homemade sauce was always my favorite family dinner night.

The one that comes to mind was a meal I enjoyed with my husband on our second wedding anniversary. We made reservations at Waypoint Seafood and Grille in Williamsburg Virginia. “Waypoint Seafood and Grill Restaurant marks Williamsburg’s latest culinary destination from Chef Hans Schadler. The Waypoint menu is a celebration of Chesapeake ingredients and includes items grown at local farms and caught in regional waters. The pure flavors and rich ingredients presented in the seasonally changing entrees represent modern regional American cuisine with classical culinary roots.” Chef Hans Schadler was awarded Virginia’s best chef of 2016.

Cilantro! Science has proved that an aversion to cilantro is actually due to olfactory-receptor genes, called OR6A2, that pick up on the smell of aldehyde chemicals. Aldehyde chemicals are found in both cilantro and soap.

Hi, I'm Mr. Bender.  I have always been interested in food and cooking.  Growing up in a family with different backgrounds, I have spent my life eating family recipes from the Midwest, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.  Since Winterim was incorporated into Forman's schedule, I've taught food-related courses four times, beginning with A Culinary Tour of Europe.  

While I'm not hoping to learn as much during this Winterim, I am hoping that all of the members gain an appreciation for the hard work and skill that goes into creating artisan foods.  

To choose a favorite food would be very tough for me.  After last year's Winterim in Scotland, I became very fond of haggis, and I've always loved salmon.  But perhaps my favorite, because it is so versatile, is the egg.  I've always disliked peas (though I'll still eat them), but there's nothing I won't try.  My favorite food experiences are always about trying new food: trying beef marrow is one of the most recent experiences that I can recall.