Cooking can be one of the most rewarding professions or hobbies that a person can do.

There’s nothing more satisfying than someone saying” that was the best meal that I’ve ever had”.  Just knowing that you’ve prepared that meal with your own hands or created that dish with your imagination is a rush that can’t be described (that’s why chefs work long hours for little pay).

It’s a profession that gives you self satisfaction and you can see how your customers react or guests feel almost instantaneously.

Saying that, there is the pitfall of staying in that comfort zone of knowing what you can cook really well and what your customers or guests want and staying within those boundaries.

As a professional I feel obligated to always push those boundaries and discover new flavors, textures and techniques.

For those aspiring cooks at home it’s a little harder to step outside of the box and experiment.

I recently had the challenge to cook for 150 people at Exploration Place in Prince George for Chinese New Year. When they approached me to do this a couple of months ago I jumped at the chance, I’ve always wanted to try Asian cuisine, but not in a traditional sense.  I wanted to take some traditional flavors and modernize them in a way where we –here in Canada can relate to them more easily.

This brings me back to cooking outside of your comfort zone. Everybody knows me for Italian or French cooking but I took on this challenge to prove to myself and break that stereotype.

As a cook you know the flavors you like so don’t be afraid to cook outside of your comfort zone. Try the new dishes on your husband or wife first before introducing them to the world-what’s the worst thing that can happen? You order in pizza.

Today’s recipe is Szechuan glazed baby back pork ribs.

-place rack of ribs on sheet pan and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, remove and cool

-place in deep roasting pan on it’s side upright and add equal parts of soy,water,add ½ hoisin and ½ again of sesame oil. Liquid should come up about ½ to 2/3 up the side of the ribs

-cook for 5 hours at 350 degrees

-remove from pan and discard liquid

-let ribs cool completely

Szechuan glaze-equal parts of honey, soy, sweet chili sauce, add a little vegetable oil and sesame oil to taste

-brush glaze on ribs and reheat at high temperature until hot and sprinkle sesame seeds and serve