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ABOUT
ABOUT ME
Mark G
Blogger, food junkie, wine & spirits enthusiast
Welcome to my blog celebrating the wonderful world of food, wine, and spirits! I’m Mark, a self-taught chef and wine & spirits enthusiast. My passion for cooking, wine, and spirits came about after 9/11 when my wife Laurie deployed for 7-months with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group as a civilian analyst. I quickly realized I couldn’t live without her, … or I could, but only in a state of eternal boredom with way too much time on my hands! I had dabbled in cooking and learning about wine a bit before but now had the time to immerse myself in both. The more I learned about the art of fine cooking and the fascinating world of wine & spirits, the more excited I got about becoming a true food and wine connoisseur.
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Laurie came home from her deployment to a closet transformed into a 150-bottle wine cellar, a kitchen stocked with the latest and greatest cooking accoutrements, and an updated version of her husband who could cook more than a grilled cheese sandwich and actually pronounce “gewurztraminer” correctly. My passion for food, wine and spirits has only grown over the decades since then!
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In 2021 I retired early after working 34 years as an analyst, manager, and executive for a non-profit Department of Defense federally funded research and development center (The Center for Naval Analyses) and Laurie and I set off to live the good life in Sarasota FL and pursue our passions full-time.
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I decided to start this blog as a way to engage with others and share what I have learned about how food, wine, and spirits can bring people together and enhance our lives in ways that transform the ordinary to the extraordinary. I’ll be sharing tips and secrets for creating easy to-make dishes, successfully pairing wine and food, and helping anyone learn how to navigate and master the complex and fascinating world of wine and spirits. In doing so, my hope is that you will come to feel the same passion I do for the amazing world of food, wine, and spirits! I hope you will consider subscribing to my blog so we can engage with and learn from each other!