“I’ll do anything when it comes to cooking,” replies Kevin Hogge, asked if he has a favorite method. He says, “Cooking is therapeutic for me.” He likes to try all sorts of cooking and many types of recipes, although he probably never uses the recipe as written. He likes to “tweak” them.

Kevin has been interested in cooking since he was a child standing on something to raise him so he could watch what his grandmother, “Nanny,” was cooking. “She always said I was in the middle of everything so she started to let me stir things. As I grew up I enjoyed being around her and was always looking to learn, so I spent a lot more time with her in the kitchen.” Although his mother was a good cook it was from his grandmother, Viola Basta, that Kevin learned to love to cook. 

Viola was featured in the Gazette-Journal in July 1982. Although Polish cooking prevailed in her home, she and her husband operated a Mexican restaurant i...