A tiny apron. A stool pulled up to the counter. An aging hand reaching for her rolling pin. A kitchen where memories were made and love was caught. Generosity and hospitality were learned long before measurement conversions. Before a recipe was ever written down, it was experienced and cherished, and a love of cooking was passed down from one generation to the next. Three local women shared their stories of generational cooking, and it always start s in someone else’s kitchen. For Ashley Houston of Your Household Hero, that kitchen was her mother’s when Houston was only 3. Houston painted the picture: “I fondly remember playing with live lobsters on the floor (rubber-banded claws of course). My mom’s philosophy was that you never measured spices or extracts – you went “with your heart,” and that’s the biggest cooking influence on my life.” Shana Salyer, owner of Dolci Carmela Homemade Baked Goods, echoed the sentiment. “My mother was definitely my earliest influence. We baked together and with my grandparents from a very young age. She often shared fond memories of baking with her grandmother as well that inspired me to carry on the tradition.” Tatiana Yagecic of the Yagecic family business and co-author of “Dear Diary, I’m a Chef!,” places her starting point across the pond. “When I think about where it all began, I find myself standing in my babička’s (grandmother’s) tiny apartment kitchen in Slovakia. My mom, sister and I lived in one apartment building, and my grandmother lived right next door. She was one of 11 siblings, so there was always a birthday, a holiday or some celebration pulling everyone together. Food was at the center of all of it.” None of these women started their story with a recipe. It all began with a person. Spending hours in a kitchen with a loved one leaves a lasting inheritance that goes well beyond the ingredient list. Yagecic related, “The kitchen wasn’t just where food was made. It was where people felt welcomed, where conversations happened that wouldn’t have happened anywhere else, where you learned who you were by being part of something larger than yourself.” Houston learned to love and give abundantly. “My mom taught me not to play by minimums – first with flavors in baking and cooking, then with love and giving an overflow, and eventually just in how to win at life – by taking care of other people.” These women inherited generosity, identity, hospitality, courage and belonging – not simply recipes. But a tradition must start somewhere, and sometimes they are born out of simplicity. For Houston, a simple sugar cookie recipe became the highlight of Christmas year after year. “Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember, we would bake as a family. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but to show our love and appreciation for service people in our lives and friends and family, we would send huge baking care packages and deliver fresh cookies and baked goods. That cookie was always the highlight of Christmas – it meant Christmas was really there.” After losing her mom in 2015, Houston has continued 40 WWW.CHARLESTONWOMENPODCAST.COM | WWW.READCW.COM | WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CHARLESTONWOMEN A GENERATIONAL Love of Baking BY KATIE FINCH Ashley Houston with her mom Babicka and Yagecic
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