Lydia Chassaniol said her mother was a good cook, and Lydia often hung around in the kitchen. She said she learned by “osmosis.” When she was in the 8th grade, all of the girls had to take home economics.
“The first thing we learned to make was white sauce,” Chassaniol said. “Although we didn’t know it at the time, it’s the basis of many French sauces. Mrs. Minnie Lee King was our teacher.”
When Lydia first started cooking, her brother, Bob Graves was her guinea pig. She said he was the only person “brave enough to try what I cooked.”
“I see food as edible art and read cookbooks like some people read novels,” Chassaniol said. “Julia Child said once you’ve mastered basic techniques you don’t really need to use a recipe. I usually just see what’s on special at the grocery and go from there. When I find a method that works, I write it down.”
Gwen Sisson 