Jamie Barnes

Growing up I was lucky enough to be exposed to different food cultures. My grandmother was Japanese, and my family also had roots in Southern heritage. I was exposed to sushi and red bean pancakes at a young age, as well as fish fries and barbecue at family reunions. Cooking has always been an interest of mine since the days of rushing home to catch Emeril Live on Food Network and staying up late nights watching cooking infomercials. Funny story: the first recipe I ever attempted was a sugar cookie. I felt so confident in the recipe I had found and was pleased with the outcome—so I thought. Upon my first bite, I was overwhelmed with a powerful unpleasant taste! I had accidentally used salt instead of sugar! Big time fail. From that day I guess I put my aspirations of being a baker on hold and leaned towards cooking!