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About GreatGrub

The traveling bards of ancient Greece were some of the greatest storytellers. For them it was never routine. They worked off a base from which they improvised and nurtured their tales. The stories they dished up were fresh with each telling. For every night of the week these traveling Bards had the foundation for yet another scintillating story. And in their history lies the foundation for GreatGrub.

We don’t want for you to simply memorize and follow our recipes, and we don’t want for you to adopt our judgments and attitudes about the perfect meal. Instead think of GreatGrub as a forum where you can connect with people who share your passion for food. As far as we are concerned, a meal is about creating a full experience that isn’t complete without lively discussion and a good story. The preparation is half the fun and sharing it with friends and family is the half that really matters.

Just as the narrative was a means of setting the tone of the ancient feast, GreatGrub is a place for people to create their recipes, publish their stories, research their meals and connect over shared passions.

Andrew Sachs is the founder of GreatGrub. He is a reformed theatre director (mostly) who after years on the road traveling from one theatre to the next came to appreciate the value of a simple family meal. His passion for food began at his mother’s apron strings and took off at the age of nine when he discovered that he could create his own chocolate chip cookies. As his theatre career progressed, he had less time for cooking and enjoying a simple meal. Marriage, however, dragged him kicking and screaming to Los Angeles where his interest in cooking remerged. Andrew is a self taught cook who values the art of exploration. His goal in creating GreatGrub was to demystify the kitchen and encourage people to take the time to sit around the table and tell the family story which begins with “Today I did…” The process of discovery continues. He is always learning and experimenting. He loves to cook with his family and friends. He continues to learn by observing others and relishes the time that they spend sitting around the table.

John Snyder I am a free-range, organically grown, culinary trained, and self-sustaining artist/foodie. My undying child-like curiosity has led me down many paths. But, of all the paths, the one to the table has always brought me joy. Whether eating in an elegant restaurant, sharing food with friends, or eating food prepared by the first-time cook, I will always appreciate the true effort from farm to table as long as it is served with a heaping side of love and friendship.

David King Lassman I am David! I retired from professional opera at the age of 14 after nature took its course. I realized I had better chances with the girls with a guitar and an Eric Clapton cover and consequently spent my early teens memorizing the lyrics to “Wonderful Tonight”. (I didn’t get much action, by the way.) Subsequently, I found that business and technology provided me with good conversation pieces at parties (my favoured opening line was “Hi. Do you program in C?”). I started my first business in 1989 providing really useful tools for school teachers to do their jobs more effectively. The business is still going strong. More recently, I founded Connextra (with Peter) which survived the dot com crash, became profitable and which we sold a few years ago. Along the way, Peter and I became involved in a load of projects which pushed our buttons and made money for people. While I was building my businesses, I had to eat. Food became an important diversion from the rigours of entrepreneurship. And when my kids came along it became obvious pretty quickly that I needed to nourish the little suckers with some healthy chow. Wow! Now I am building a food business. How cool is that?

Peter Marks I’ve been messing about with computers and writing software since I was a kid (which is a while ago now). Like my friend and serial business partner David, I also love to cook and eat. So when Andrew and John came to us with the idea of building a food website, we couldn’t resist. I’m very much an instinctive cook. I rarely follow recipes, relying more on thinking about what would add the taste I’m looking for. Usually it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. The down side of this, of course, is that when it is really great, I can’t remember exactly how I did it so that I can do it again. I like to grill and barbecue and most of the rest of what I do is in a pan or a wok. I’m not big into deserts or baking — chemistry was never my subject. I’m also renowned in certain circles for my cocktail making… I really should publish some.

If you have any comments about the site or anything I’ve put up, do contact me or post a message in the forum.