Most of my personal childhood memories around the dinner table seem to revolve around yelling matches between my father and my sister while I cowered in the corner of the bench I shared with her. It was usually about homework not turned in, organ practice not completed, leaves not rakes, or high school graduation announcements that weren’t ordered in time.
I’m sure this didn’t happen every night, but it happened enough so that when I had my own family, I determined their memories of our dinners would be pleasant, or at least neutral. We all sat down together, ate the same meal and went around the table in turn discussing our day. Very Ozzie and Harriette, but without the jokes. As I recall our dinners were civilized, nutritious, but definitely not memory-making.
However, you never know what grown children are going to remember.
I have a son who has become a chef of some fame and recognition. A reporter asked him why he went into the field. His reply startled and amazed me. He told her it was because of his own memories of the dinner table: “I want to replicate for others what we had when I was growing up: Good food and good conversations.”
You never know where a macaroni and cheese casserole might lead...
Her son, Paul Berglund is the executive chef at The Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, Paul was a nominee for the 2014 James Beard Awards Best Chef: Midwest. It seems those dinner table memories are the perfect recipe for success!
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