About Gregory

Born and raised in New York City and now residing in rural-suburban, Rockford (Rocktucky), Michigan, I’m an East Coast transplant to the great fly-over we call the upper Midwest. I’m all about good living which is why I call the too-oft snowy confines of West Michigan “home” -- the Grand Rapids area enjoys a high quality of life and food -- if you know where to shop and eat. As a home-body with high social needs, I’ve cultivated moderate cooking and entertaining skills as a way to entice my spoiled, city-dwelling, Grand Rapids friends to drive “all the way up to Rockford?” -- a long 16 miles, traffic-less trek that they believe requires an overnight stay to justify the distance travelled. I lived in Europe for five and a half years and I’ve had the privilege of bouncing around the world for a while, so I’ve sampled a variety of foods, cuisines, and recipes. I’ve been lucky to eat Tuscan food in Florence and French cooking in Paris, as well as sample more exotic fare in Africa and Asia. Growing up in New York also exposed me to some of the finest food, restaurants, and dining experiences known to man, woman, and well-behaved restaurant-going-child, as well as an eclectic array of genuine ethnic home cooking. My philosophy of food is akin to that of the Slow Food movement -- food, like life, needs time to be savored, and is best when natural, organic, and prepared with love and purpose. My background predilections, and convictions, not to mention tastes, make me an in-your-face organic, whole grain, three and a half hour dinner kind of guy. I hope you find my reflections on food, dining, local restaurants, and slow, organic, healthy cooking enjoyable. Bon appetit!

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