Like most teenagers in America my first job was also in the food industry. However, unlike most teenagers in America my job was not in a Burger King, McDonalds or Taco Bell. As I mentioned before my family was all about food and several of them were in the food industry.

I had an "uncle" who took Humboldt County food to the next level. He opened one of the first if not THE first pizza places in Eureka. And I remember hanging out there as a young kid...gnawing on pizza crust for a snack. He also opened a restaurant called Ramones...which was one of the first if not THE first NICE restaurant in Humboldt County.

(L-R) Travis, myself and my "Uncle" Tomaso at a Wine Bar in Ventura County

However, at the time I entered my tween to early teen years he took his food career in a completely different path. He decided to open his own marinara sauce business Tomaso's Specialty Foods which is still around today. He spent his career cooking amazing food in Humboldt County and in the San Francisco Bay Area.He was raised in NJ...just like the rest of my family...and he decided to take his childhood memories of his Italian family dinners and transport them to our small Northern California area.

Just like every teenager they picture their first job to be glamorous, exciting, profitable and rewarding. So I show up to my first job and I don a large white apron, nasty rubber gloves and get to work. I got to spend my after school hours in a small kitchen above a restaurant supply store (I believe) in a hot, cramped area filled with bottles, labels and vats of marinara sauce. Although the smell of tomatoes and garlic are amazing when they permeate your house on a cold Sunday afternoon after you have allowed your marinara sauce to cook for hours...it is less attractive stuck in your hair as a teenager trying to be cool.

My first job involved a lot of grunt work. I was responsible for washing and sterilizing the bottles...if anyone got sick in the late 80's to early 90's from Tomaso's marinara sauce that was probably my fault. I was pretty petite then and I remember my hands being lost in the giant rubber gloves as I tried not to let the bottles slip out of my hands or scald my arms with the hot water. I remember the steam that permeated my face...probably helping me from getting the nasty acne of so many teenagers. I also was responsible for putting the labels on the bottles. I have memories of using giant sponges to wet the labels and then adhere them to the jars. This was a very tedious and trying task for me...as those of you who know me can well imagine...since I still to this day can't cut a straight line, staple in any kind of organized pattern or line up anything like a picture on the wall. I remember how excited I was the day the labels switched from the "I need to be wet to stick to anything" style to the sticker like adhesive. Happy days!

And the excitement of my daily job came at the end of the day. Once the sauce was made and had been cooked for hours on end it was time to fill the jars. And honestly I am sure to many of you it may sound boring it was truly rewarding and exciting to see that deep red color as it filled the multitude of bottles. It was exciting to see this decade old tradition come to fruition on a regular basis and to see the next generation carrying it forward. I have to say that one of the drawbacks to having a family who is truly not yours is that you don't get to know and understand the traditions of your elders. When your "family" is all the same age they aren't often thinking of legacy, carrying on traditions and sharing those with the next generation. But those afternoons I was part of something bigger...and it was rewarding. I remember watching the jars getting filled and it was my job to put the lids on while the sauce was still hot so the lids would seal onto the jars. I remember red scalded hands at the end of the day but those jars were sealed with hard work and perseverance.

Ok sure I didn't have the glamour or even the cool uniform that my friends who worked at Burger King got. But I learned a valuable lesson about carrying on family traditions, having a strong work ethic and understanding just how important it is that food have meaning.