KITCHEN OF MY DREAMS
A mom of four shares her passion for cooking and how she has instilled that passion in her kids
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My earliest memory of a Viking Kitchen was when I was about 14 years old. Back then, I had this friend AimeeLeonido. She was an only child.So when I went to her house, I knew that we could do anything we wanted because she had no older siblings to answer to or younger siblings to take care of. I enjoyed going to Aimee’s house because it was the complete opposite of my home. I have four siblings and two foster brothers. That many kids in the house make for a really noisy home (in a good way) and some healthy competition.
My mother cooked for us all the time. When there were family gatherings, the women were all in the kitchen together, preparing the food which would be served family-style on the extended table that my father added with sawhorses and a plywood extension. That allowed my mother to easily seat 20 people in our dining room. Suffice it to say, we all developed a love for eating, as well as for cooking, seated around our ItalianAmerican table.
But while Aimee did not have as boisterous a family gathering as I did, her home’s kitchen was just jawdropping magnificent. Honestly, I had kitchen envy… at the very young age of 14. I remember walking into Mrs. Leonido’s kitchen and seeing this very large, very posh, very beautiful six-burner stainless steel Viking range complete with a two-door oven. I was in awe. And I wondered to myself (very quietly, of course) why on earth her home would have such a range, when her mother did not even cook. Whenever I was with Aimee and her parents, they either had food delivered, or we went out to eat at a restaurant.
That night, when I reached home, I told my mom about this beautiful Viking range that Mrs. Leonido had in her new kitchen. I even daydreamed a little about how nice it would be to cook with my mom, my nana, and my godmother using the range for our next family gathering. Someday, I vowed, I would have one.
Fast forward to today. I now have my own family. I have four kids: Gia, 15; Miguel, 13; Diego, 10; and Gelli, 3. I prepare food for my family. I still don’t have a Viking range but I am working toward making my dream come true in our new home. For now, I am enjoying my kitchen “duties.”
I followed in my mother’s footsteps and my daughter Gia is following in mine, helping out in the kitchen as much as she can. She experiments and plays with flavors, both in cooking dishes and in baking. Together, Gia and I have explored different ways to prepare healthy meals, and beautiful treats for special occasions. Although she is just three years old, Gelli is already mimicking me in the kitchen. Sometimes when I know I will be in the kitchen all day, I will move her play kitchen into the (real) kitchen with me. There, she would cook and ask everyone to sit at her small table so she could serve them.
The same way that I was drawn to the kitchen—to where the women in my family stirred big pots of meatballs and gravy, put together antipasto platters, and chit-chatted while they worked—my kids are, too, so much so that you’d forever find Gia cooking, baking with friends for a party, or just tinkering with the kitchenware. For me, it is always a beautiful sight to come home to.
What I have realized is that it’s not really how big your kitchen is or how grand that makes it invaluable. Rather, it’s the memories that you build in it. I may be working toward building my own Viking dream kitchen in my new home but that hasn’t stopped me from establishing memories and moments with my children that are unforgettable. I cannot wait to create more memories in my new home with a high-quality, professional equipment that boasts safety precautions and measures that will allow me to leave my children in the kitchen with confidence.
I’m no longer the young girl who fell in love with that six-burner range many moons ago. Instead, I’m a grown woman who enjoys spending time in the kitchen with friends and family. The difference is, I now have a young girl, Gia, by my side who has the same fondness for cooking as I had when I was her age. Now, it’s her turn to make beautiful memories in the kitchen and I know it will be even sweeter with our very own Viking Range.