My grandfather recently celebrated a birthday. He's eighty-five now, if you were curious. And it seems fitting that both he and my grandmother are allowed to retire from their familial duties - being the main cooks at parties.
They'll still do it, of course. But not as much as they used to. The past few years has seen a changing of the guard. Everyone in the family cooks, but one has stood out and is turning into the head cook - Uncle E. He does the grilling, he cooks up huge pots of afritada, caldareta, and when my dad wasn't able to, took over the role of dinuguan maker. Even his wife, Aunt A pitches in and makes Filipino spaghetti, pasta salads, and a huge jug of sago at gulaman. A new cooking dynasty in the works.
That's not to say everyone else will stop cooking. Everyone has their specialty, but you can pretty much count on Uncle E to whip up a whole lot of good things.
And of course, I retain my role as quality control. Got to make sure the food is up to our high family standards. And it is in no means my way of getting first dibs on eating. Quality control... I swear.
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