Much like a great meal, a memory is a mix of sights, smells and tastes. For many, childhood memories are shaped by what comes out of the kitchen.

As a child growing up in Canada, Gail Simmons says most of her early food memories were shaped by her mother, a food writer and cooking school instructor, who was a fixture in the family kitchen. But it was a visit to her father's homeland—South Africa—that set young Gail on a path toward cooking school and Top Chef stardom.