Welcome to Gastronome Tart!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.If you have stumbled across this blog, I’m sure you are wondering who is the mind behind it. Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amy and sure enough, I love food. Which I like to think is coherently obvious (hence the excitement in picture below of stumbling upon a chocolate shop in The Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Australia) My hope is that over time you and I will get to know one another.

Let me just start off with where it all began...Ever since I was a child my taste buds have ran rampant. I always loved to try new concoctions. While I didn’t grow up in a household that spent much time in the kitchen, I did grow up in a home where my parent’s tried to instill in us a love for the arts. Although my mother was an elementary school teacher and my father a veterinarian, artistic expression was always encouraged. Whatever we wanted to do, our parents full heartedly allowed us to embrace it. Becoming a cartoonist? Take a class! Playing the violin? Give it a try. Want to learn photography? What about a camera for your birthday present? However, the one thing that stuck with me was dance. I danced my behind off for so many years. Loved it. Loved it to the point that I even went to an art school in high school. The movie Fame had nothing on us. However behind this all, there seemed to be a cycle. Dance, eat, dance and repeat. After a long class there was nothing more that I enjoyed than a nice meal.

I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. After high school I had moved to Los Angeles to pursue my college education. Immediately after graduation, I met my hubby to be. Rob and thus my true culinary passion began. Rob and I dined all over town. Santa Monica to Beverly Hills and even all the way down to Newport Beach. Food was elevated. When I was a child, a nice steak dinner at Morton’s was the epitome (which I still do enjoy a bone-in Ribeye from time to time) but now I was being introduced to foi gras with chocolate sauce. Imagine my surprise when I found out what that truly was (although it has never been a deterent since)

At the end of 2005 when Rob and I were just an engaged couple, we left the state of California for the east coast. Settling in Denver, NC. Denver was just a pit stop for us on the way the Charlotte. We decided to stay there for a few months while looking for a place in Charlotte. Denver. It was literally in the middle of no where. Since we had just moved, we had sold my car in California, so while I was searching for a job, Rob had already landed one and I was stuck in the middle of a town where just to get milk was a ten mile trip. I was without a car while he went off to work and that’s where the beginning of my gastronome tendencies started.

I would rip open every culinary magazine and cookbook I could get my hand’s on. I tried and failed many times at many recipes, however, I knew that if you do something and fail, keep doing it until you succeed. Almost every single week I would bake goodies for my husband to bring to work. Some were more successful than others, however I always tried.

After our move to North Carolina we moved to Nashville, Birmingham, Richmond and now Suffolk, Virginia where we most likely will stay. Through it all, I have traveled around the world, learned culinary tips, honed my photography skills and ate my way to happiness.

During my culinary triumph’s and failures, I have always loved the commaderie of true foodies. Such a basic yet complex necessity like food that brings everyone around the world together. I would love to speak to any of you about travel, food,or photography. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line! Email: gastronometart@gmail.com