Sireena Edwards, Pastry Chef of High Ridge (Mo.) Country Club, learned to bake from her Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother.
“One of my oldest memories is of my grandma sitting me up on the counter and teaching me how to weigh out flour and sugar,” Edwards says. “She would host the holidays at her house, and she loved lemon meringue pie. I would always make it with her, and that flavor combination brings back fond memories.”
Now, Edwards says, she put a modern twist on the classic, making this lemon meringue cheesecake recipe her own.
“It has a vibrant lemon cheesecake with a homemade graham cracker sugar cookie, then dipped in sweet meringue,” she notes. “I love to torch it just before being served so it has a warm, toasty outside covering a cold, fresh lemon center.”
Edwards believes every chef has a story, a reason for becoming a chef. Many start in childhood, cooking or baking with those they love.
“Food brings people together, and usually the love behind cooking comes from the ones we love that share their knowledge with us,” Edwards says. “I hope this idea of remembering how we learned to cook inspires other chefs to make a modern twist of some of their childhood favorites.”