Sam Stern was raised in Yorkshire, England, with three fantastic sisters and one brilliant brother -- until they went to college and he was left to his own devices. It is not unusual that a high school student loves to eat but his ability to cook and write sets him apart. He describes one of his first memories cooking with his mother, Susan, making her famous treacle bread and opening the oven to see it and says "the smell was great!" This appreciation for cooking led him (when he was a bit older) to write COOKING UP A STORM with his mother. He wanted to write a book "for kids like me who enjoy cooking or who want to learn to cook. It's full of simple tasty recipes -- the kinds of things that my friends and I like to eat." Their second book, REAL FOOD, REAL FAST is an effort to lure all those time-pressured teens away from their fast-food fixes.

Writing and cooking share some of the same creative skills. Sam says "when I write I just like to chill. Sometimes it's so easy and the words just come flooding out. Other times I get frustrated. I like to write to music because it helps everything to flow. I like to be creative with my writing but with the cookbook, it had to be really short and sweet. It was really hard to cut it down sometimes." Regarding cooking he notes "well, I'm usually pretty impatient, but I can spend hours chopping stuff, blending, whisking, and mixing. I find all that activity really relaxing. The first thing I do when I get into the kitchen is put on some music."