“My mom gave me a great tip: Don’t wash your wooden salad bowl with soap — leftover oils and vinegars condition the wood and make every salad taste better than the last. Just rinse thoroughly with warm water.”

Hannah Bank, CF‘s Food editorial assistant

“My mom taught me to experiment. She is always trying something new and inspired me to cook at a young age.
She likes to try recipes from all over the world and with all kinds of flavours, and now I do too.”

Alison Lawler-Dean, CF‘s fashion associate

“When I was a kid and we’d have a family get-together with my Mom’s side, they would say, “Don’t sing at the table, or you’ll get a crazy spouse!’ Not sure where that came from, but it stuck.”

Jeff Hannaford, CF‘s art director

“My mother insists that if you have anything other than a pixie cut, your hair should be tied back when you are in the kitchen. It grosses me out to watch cooking shows when the chefs have their hair down. All I can picture when I watch Nigella Lawson is her hair falling in all that cream she’s using. Gross!”

Andrea Janus, CF‘s beauty associate

“Aside from the typical chidings over elbows on the table, talking through mouthfuls and being wasteful, my parents had health rules. We weren’t allowed to salt our food and we mostly had dessert only on special occasions. Irksome, yes, but I’m glad tasting my food before seasoning it is now a habit, and when I have dessert, I still consider it a treat.”

Tory Healy, CF‘s food associate