Iron Daniel

Editorial Notebook

But then he started volunteering to cook. At first, simple things like flipping pancakes or pouring brownie batter. Soon, he was making his own lunch. He started collecting cookbooks and baking cookies and pies. He wanted to learn, but he also wanted to create.

His big opportunity arrived last month. His sister's 14-and-under softball team was headed to Cary, N.C., for a national tournament. He would spend a week at a nearby culinary day camp - not the Cordon Bleu but a 5-day program set up in an authentic commercial kitchen.

Called "Classy Kids Cook," the school offered an introduction to Spanish cooking from arroz con pollo and paella to flan and spanish omelets. It would end with two competitions - he would be expected to create a Spanish-influenced recipe on his own, and he would be assigned to a team in a class-wide Iron Chef competition.

His team won Iron Chef and he took home second for his original creation - a shrimp and avocado tartlet. Not bad for one of the youngest in the class.

Is Daniel destined to be a chef? Will it be "Julie & Julia & Daniel?" Hard to say, as a boy's interests can be as fleeting as a summer storm. Next month, he may be back to Legos.

But for his parents, the thrill is not the prospect of catered gourmet meals in our retirement years (although that would be nice), it's watching a young man discover something that genuinely excites him and then devoting himself to it. No matter where his interests lie - cooking, playing softball or collecting throw-rugs - that's a lesson of commitment and perserverance that is bound to serve him well.