Laurie Boucher told me that she always knew she wanted to study law. The vocation brought her from Pennsylvania to Baltimore, where she now resides. When Boucher needed more time to take care of family, she scaled back on lawyering, enrolled in culinary school, and began to master the art of pasta-making. As she shared her pasta creations on instagram, along with detailed information and instructions, she began to acquire a few thousand enthusiastic followers. At some point I became one of them!
Laurie’s instagram is a well of inspiration to try new things and to have fun. It’s even resulted in her offering some pasta classes. I knew that meeting Laurie would be a great way to get back into doing some interviews for Old Line Plate and I knew I could not turn down an opportunity to learn the technique of laminating herbs into fresh pasta. Problem is, I was a little intimidated. How could I keep up with a lawyer whose idea of relaxation was to spend so many dedicated hours mastering intricate techniques?
When I stepped into Boucher’s kitchen, stocked with tools for pasta and more, I was instantly put at ease. Yes, I met a highly driven and self-disciplined person. What I found beyond that was someone a lot like me – a person whose self-driven need to follow a passion on one’s own terms has allowed them to share information freely; a fellow introvert who has found that food can be a way to reach out and connect with others – even online.
Laurie Boucher in her home kitchen