The Story

Not every exhibit has a dramatic story behind it.

Sometimes it's simply about capturing a moment.

This photograph was taken during the winter in New Jersey after a fresh snowfall. I liked the way the trees looked against the bright winter sky, so I grabbed my camera and captured the scene.

When I sent it to Anabela, she transformed the photograph into something almost symmetrical, giving it a calm, peaceful feeling that reminded me of winter.

For this exhibit, we once again included one of the recipes from my website.

This time it was Bandido Spiced Shrimp.

At first, it was simply a recipe I enjoyed sharing with people.

What I didn't expect was where it would lead.

The seasoning eventually became my own spice blend, and before long I had it professionally packaged and sitting on supermarket shelves.

For a while, I was actually in the spice business.

It was a lot of work.

It was fun.

It wasn't especially profitable, but that's all right.

Sometimes the experience is worth more than the profit.

There's something satisfying about seeing an idea go from your own kitchen, to a recipe on your website, to a finished product that people can actually buy in a store.

That's something I'll always remember.

This exhibit reminds me that you never really know where a simple idea might lead.

Sometimes a recipe becomes a business.

Sometimes a photograph becomes a piece of art.

And sometimes the smallest ideas end up creating the best memories.