I've worked as an IT Architect for IBM for the past 8 years and in the IT arena for over 18. This means I've travelled all over North America (and some international) on an expense account (or vacation) and have eaten at some of the most famous restaurants in the US, Canada and Mexico. I LOVE to cook and when I'm not travelling, I usually do all of the cooking for my dear wife, 15 year old daughter and 11 year old son. The thing I like the best is trying different things in ritzy restaurants and then returning home to duplicate my experience as closely as possible. My family, parents and all of our friends agree that it's VERY rare when I can't duplicate (exactly, by the way) virtually any type of food, cooking, style or dish as long as it's no more than a week since first trying it and also considering that I can find the right ingredients (which can sometimes be the biggest part of the challenge while living in a city of 75,000 or so in North Dakota. Many people beg me to go somewhere and taste foods so that I can prepare a list of ingredients and cooking methods that will most likely mimic that of the original preparation. Many of the ingredients, at times, will have to be ordered over the internet as they're simply not available in this predominantly German or Scandinavian area. I'm happy to give my dear creator all the credit for blessing me with such a gift. Without a doubt, my family and I are very intrigued with many ethinic varieties.