Geek in Charge

Hi there, I’m Scott and I’m a geek.  It just so happens that I’m also a foodie.  Being a geek and being a foodie have natural and complementary overlaps, so I guess its not suprising to find someone who enjoys both.

Like geeks, foodies are known for being dedicated to their interests.  A geek might spend thousands of dollars building a computer: choosing the right motherboard, getting the fastest hard drives, water-cooling the CPU, and overclocking the graphics card.  A foodie will spend the same amount on hand-pounded copper pots, Japanese knives, artisanal olive oil and a laser thermometer accurate to the 100th of a degree.

While geeks spend hours agonizing over every line of source code to boost performance, a foodie will pick through and carefully inspect every head of garlic in the grocery store before making a choice.  We care about quality, and we’re known to be a little obsessive-compulsive.

As for my foodiness, it all started in 1982.

That was the year year I attended La Varenne, the prestigious French cooking school.  Unfortunately, I never received a diploma from La Varenne, as I was a fetus during my tenure there.  Regardless, I’m convinced that this experience had a lasting impact on my culinary development.

As I grew up, both of my parents taught me the value of cooking for others.  I learned how food can unite families and bring friends together.  When I went off to college at Carnegie Mellon University (major geek school), I started cooking as a way to combat the stress of homework and programming assignments.  Even though my college kitchen was smaller than most linen closets, I managed to produce some decent food.  And once my friends found out there was an alternative to Top Ramen, filling my social calendar was never a problem.

After college, I moved to Washington D.C. to work for IBM.  Unfortunately, it was a new city for me and I didn’t know many people.  What was a single guy to do?  Behold, the power of the dinner party: if you cook it, they will come. A few roasted hens, some wild rice and a cheese plate were effective weapons against solitude, as it turned out.

You can now find me cooking nightly in my home in Seattle.  I’m a very proud Microsoftee by day, but as soon as work is over, I head straight to my kitchen to cook up a storm for my girlfriend wife and resident guinea pig, Rachel.

So, that’s what I’m about.  I’m a geek who cooks.  Hopefully this blog will inspire you to explore your own kitchen, and maybe, just maybe, discover your inner food geek.

Happy cooking,
Scott Heimendinger

FYI – I don’t actually wear the geek glasses all the time.