Antoni Porowski

As proud as I am of being Polish-Canadian, sometimes I'm so jealous I wasn't born Italian.

Some people want to define themselves, and they should, as it's part of their identity. For me personally, I've never really had a label for myself.

I don't like processed soy stuff.

I can't do too much of one thing, or I get very distracted.

For the most part, it was never assumed that I was gay, and I've had people be sort of surprised that I was gay or act apologetic like they didn't know, which would just make me really uncomfortable. And I never had shame for it, but I never felt like introducing myself as, 'I'm Antoni. I'm gay. How are you?'

I still think it's weird that people are interested in what I like and what I represent.

My sexuality's something that's intimate. It's not anything that I'm ashamed of.

I'm someone who's experienced impostor syndrome - as I think a lot of people have with their careers, especially when they pursue what they're passionate about, because they want to be good at it. I've experienced that as a gay man; I've experienced that as a cook, as a gallery director, as a student of psychology.

My background is in psychology - that's what my bachelor's degree is from, and my specialization.

I could not be more thrilled to be writing about the recipes I love and think are essential to any novice home cook, professional, and somewhere in between.

I am someone who food has been a constant in my life, and it's been a passion - it's something that I've constantly studied - and I'm constantly trying to better my craft, and that's good enough for me.

I have a lot of different passions. Food has been a constant through my whole life; it's something I've always had a very intrinsic passion toward and for, and I continue to learn about it, and I'm not going to let any type of negative comments dissuade me from wanting to pursue that, because I love it.