LOCALLY GROWN COUNTRY GIRL...MY STORY...

Born to Cook…. My passion for cooking started on the farm in Lucketts where I grew up, tasting the best my Mom had to offer. I will never forget two things about growing up on the farm: the fresh air and the delicious meals that came from having fresh foods at our fingertips. There was no real science to putting a delicious meal on the table. The produce was fresh, and the meat, pork, and poultry tasted a lot better than those that we buy at our local grocers today. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t need to use salt, pepper or seasoned salt in everything I cooked. Rather, I began to use the fresh spices and herbs that grew right outside our door, or I chose from the many available fresh veggies to add flavor to my meals. I also discovered that I had a useful talent: when I ate out, I could go home and recreate the same dishes I had eaten after tasting them only once. The difference was that I could make them even better than those I had tasted. Over time, I began to eat out less and create more of my own meals. My menu has become quite large and continues to grow. Inspired by my Mom, she is the greatest Chef I have ever known. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I definitely was born with a spoon full of many delicious things that my Mother had prepared from scratch. She could open the fridge and use whatever was there to make a great-tasting meal. I remember that she would always say to me, “Try this and tell me if it needs something.” This was especially true if she happened to be making something for my Dad, because he and I seemed to have the same taste buds. I would tell her what to add, she would always listen, and Dad was always pleasantly surprised. When she had the meals ready, she would tell me to call everyone for dinner. If you showed up quickly, you ate. But if you were late…well, no one wanted to be that kid. But Momma was kind; even if you missed out, she would make sure you didn’t go to bed hungry. Dreams of Gourmet For years. I wanted to have my own restaurant. Afraid of both failure and success, I have put off this dream for many years. During those years, my recipes have continued to evolve and I continued to create new ones. To gain more experience in cooking for others, I took on catering jobs for dinner and holiday parties ranging from four persons, a few hundred or once a thousand people. I cooked all the food alone for the most part. My daughter Shaughni would jump in as she got older. After doing this for almost 20 years, I knew that I had a gift: I was able to prepare the food for these events with little to no help, I could prepare it quickly, and it was consistently good. When I shopped for these huge parties, I was precise, and everything was calculated. I said to myself, with one stove, I cooked for hundreds…imagine what I could do with multiple stoves. My Mom has always been the most enthusiastic supporter of the dream of opening my own restaurant. She has always said, “You have the gift, so follow your dreams.” Professional cooking has also been a lifelong dream for her, and I look forward to having her in the kitchen with me as much as she wants to be there. My name is Kimberly Evans. I was born Kimberly Glenn, the tenth child in a family of 13 (ten girls and three boys). I have a wonderful husband and four beautiful children who, along with my Mom, have always been my biggest fans, support team, and Sous Chefs. It seems odd to say that after having spent my career in a Corporate environment. But when you are destined to do something, nothing else will satisfy you or make you completely happy. No matter how successful I have been in my career, the true feeling of success for me came when I stood over a stove. I come from generations of great cooks, none of whom went to culinary school or had any sort of professional training. They simply knew how to make good food that would bring in crowds, many of which were not even family. When I think back to all the amazing meals I have had in my lifetime, my taste buds still get excited and I can remember the taste of each of those foods all these years later. GG offers more than just a meal. I want to bring families back around the dinner table to enjoy a great meal. I want to give people just a little extra time together by having dinner ready for them when they get home. I want to give back to my community and some of the great organizations that do so much to take care of the people that live here. I want to share my cooking style and endless menu options any way that I can. I want to share my family’s generations of tastes and food experiences with all my friends, families, businesses and organizations no matter how big or how small. Most importantly, I want to offer my food at affordable prices. Yes, money makes the world go ‘round, but my love and passion for food coupled with the joy I get from watching people enjoy my food repays me in ways I cannot not explain. I am extremely blessed to be opening Generations Gourmet right here in my hometown of Leesburg. I can’t wait to share my passion and cooking style with others. I am excited to be able to continue providing catering services and event planning assistance to my existing clients and all those clients to come. Almost everything I create is scratch-made, and absolutely everything is made with LOVE. Generations Gourmet will offer tastes from all over the world. From traditional Soul Food, to Asian, Indian, Caribbean flavors and beyond. GG will also offer homemade canned goods including a variety of pickles, jams and glazes.