A Child Who Loved Bread

It was 1970. A young boy sat in his grandmothers farm kitchen. He was 3 years old and a typical inquisitive child. As he sat and wiggled on that old chair at the table, Great Grandma stepped over and handed him a piece of bread dough about the size of her fist. She was 5 feet tall, wirey, and always singing in German. She had asked the young boy how the dough felt, soft and pliable. She told him, when it is soft and gentle, like a babies bottom, the dough is perfect. She then began teaching him German bier drinking songs and grandma had to shoosh her mother. "Mutti, er is drei jahre alt! Du weist es Mutti." The boy just started singing in German all the words to the song and everyone laughed as grandma just shook her head. Then, great grandma asked the boy in German, "Was machst du mit es?" She was pointing to the ball of dough she had handed him. The boy answered, "Ein Dinosaur". Grandma and great grandma just giggled some with a smile. Great grandma sat next to the boy and praised him for his very creative bread dough ball. It was time to bake that simple creation into a tasty treat. The dinosaur dough ball had risen so much you couldn't identify the dinosaur much, however it was the best tasting bread a 3 year old ever tasted.

This was the story of Chef Donny at 3 years old. That moment frozen in time has stayed with Chef Donny his entire life and career. A principle he still uses today when teaching classes. More than 55 years ago and it still seems like yesterday. That is what I enjoy about being German and Austrian born. Culture and heritage designed to teach me life principles through ordinary every day cooking. I still use this approach to teach students culinary skills they can practically use. To teach in this method helps to take sterility out of the lesson and put practicality to work. The lessons of early childhood taught me that i was capable and able.

I hope that as you read this you realize that you are capable and able to learn Bavarian culinary. As time has gone on what I learned most was to keep learning and growing and to never think I know it all about culinary. Almost 50 years later since my first culinary roots were formed and used practically in everyday life. And, I still look for the open doors to learn more. What open doors and childhood memories do you have about cooking food? Whether positive or negative experiences exist, today is the day you can change direction as you need to and find solace in the kitchen. In this blog we will explore all kinds of Bavarian foods and how to prepare them. Always shared with a little Chef Donny story. I hope you will connect and share your stories here too! The experiences I enjoyed as a child gave me the expertise needed today to make Authentic Bavarian Rye Pretzels. Once you try them, you will want more. You can order them through our store page. Das ist alles fur heute. Bis Spater Freunde! Bayerische Essen schmecht sehr lecker.