Kate's first introduction to baking was in grade seven Home Economics, and the results weren't promising. If memory serves, the Baked Alaska was a spectacular failure. Not to be deterred, she continued to dabble and mastered bread basics by grade nine. Yeasted coffee cakes became a speciality in high school, Potica and Babka became Christmas favourites of the entire family.
After meeting Steve, she was introduced to his Danish family. Her future mother-in-law told her in no uncertain terms that she could never care for him properly if she didn't learn to cook and bake like a Dane. So began a lifelong odyssey to master the intricacies of Scandinavian cooking.
Trade routes between Denmark and France led to a surprisingly pervasive influence of French cooking traditions in Danish cuisine. This led to an interest in French cooking and baking, and in turn, all things Italian.