When I was a child, I was always forced to eat foods I thought I would never enjoy. I took one peek at spinach and thought it looked like someone had just mowed the lawn, and it rained, and somehow this ended up on my plate. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer, I was forced to eat this and good thing that was the case.

Did I enjoy it? Of course not. My mind already told me not to enjoy it and it took many years later for me to remember the actual flavor of spinach. Now I love the taste of it.

This was one of the things my mother did right. It made my mind realize that although you may have a conception of how something might taste, you really have no idea until you try it at least once. What a gift this was! As an adult, I find that I am open to try just about anything as long as I see no scientific reason not to. For example, I would be perfectly fine trying a raw chicken breast if science didn’t tell me that it could make me violently ill.

My wife on the other hand was completely close minded when it came to food. When we first met, it was next to impossible to get her to try anything new. She nearly cried after I told her the dish we just ate was not beef, it was lamb. Never mind the fact that she enjoyed every bite before she knew.

It finally came to a head on our honeymoon. We were in a restaurant in New Orleans when I ordered an appetizer of fried alligator. She looked at me like I had three heads. I told her, we are not leaving this place until you try one bite and by God, I will not be married to a close minded woman. So with some reluctance, she tried it, then she tried it again, and again. Of course, she loved it. I knew her pallet well by then and was confident she would.

To this day I bring up that example to her when trying something new.

When it comes to our children, I absolutely will not allow them to pick and choose what they will eat on their plate. They have to eat it or they are going to have a long night at the table. I understand that they may hate me for it right now, but in another 15-20 years they will thank me.

This is a lesson that everyone should understand. Throw away you preconception about foods you have never tried. Even if you have tried something, give it another shot if you see it prepared in a completely new way. Cooking is not only a creative process, but it is also a brave one.

Can you imagine what type of culinary world we would live in right now if someone took a look at that creepy looking creature called a lobster and refused to even try and cook one?

Take a chance, the risk is well worth it. You stand to gain an entirely new world of pleasure with just one new ingredient. Open your mind and you will not be disappointed!