© |
|
| © |
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||
|
by Glenn DuHart |
|
When not at work, my mother could often be found baking in the kitchen. I loved watching her work. Christmas was a particularly busy time for Mom as it was time to bake different cakes and squares for potential visitors. One of my favourite confections had to be her chocolate snowballs. I'm not sure where the recipe originated, but I know where the results ended up. They were the one thing that was sure to lead to a fight between my brother and I. He always got to them first. I was never much of a cook until I left home for college. Living on my own, I had to make do with basics that I learnt from watching my mother. Trying to remember how she cooked things was the hardest - what did she put in that, how long did it take. I came up with winners, and well, I came up with a few that were not so good. I guess I just had to learn the hard way. Living in a small town, still at home with my family, looking for work in my field of study became a full time job. With no contact from potential employers, time was moving on. This would sound disastrous to most, for me it was a blessing. Since both my parents worked, I ended up in the kitchen fixing meals, waiting for their return. I began to appreciate the fine art that went into cooking and decided to pursue my emotions. I signed up for classes at my local college. Classes were great, but something seemed to be missing. I watched the baking students in the kitchen, and decided to enroll after finishing my cooking certificate. I think I found my calling. The first time I melted chocolate I thought I was in heaven. Cheesecake, pies, cookies, I needed more chocolate. To the students in the other cooking classes, as well as my own, I became known as The Chocolate Man. They had good reason to think of me that way. Some of my specialties included a decadent and deadly chocolate brownie, chocolate ganache torte, and a five layer chocolate parfait. One of my favourite memories happened one day when I was melting a few ounces of white chocolate in a double boiler. An instructor walked by and commented, "That better not be chocolate!" I replied that I was heating some cream, but was caught when I presented my white chocolate mousse cake. |
|
|
About Glenn: "Known as the Chocolate Man, I was born in Stephenville, Newfoundland, Canada. I hold a Diploma in Electronic Engineering Technology and Certificates in both Cooking and Baking. I am a technical support engineer in optical networks, currently living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with my wife Laura and son Bradley. We are currently in the process of relocating to London, England. I keep cooking and baking as both a passion and a hobby." |
|
|
Recipe contributed: |
|
|
Editors note: We thank Glenn for the recipe and the article. We admit that we'd like to take a trip to Canada to taste the magic that 'The Chocolate Man' puts into his cooking.
Custom Search
Please also read: |
|