Growing up only a couple of miles from a grandmother who didn't believe in "fast food", Andy has been brought up around cooking since a very young age. Not only learning how to cook from his mother and grandmother, but being pressed into service in both their kitchens as he grew up probably had a large influence on his love of food and cooking. Add to this his first experiences at what can only very loosely be called restaurants, and then later sitting down at what can only be called the epitome of fine dining, and you are presented with a man who is as comfortable in the kitchen as he is stretched out on the couch watching movies.
From pasta to burgers, chicken to seafood, planned menus to spontaneous "What's in the cabinet that I can throw together for dinner for a bunch of people?", Andy loves cooking. This love of cooking is easily tasted in everything he makes...at least if he lets it leave the kitchen.
"I taste everything that comes off the stove, out of the oven, out of the microwave, or off the grill. If it's not right, I keep working at it. If it's overdone, it goes in the trash. You might here a lot of swearing and throwing things around, but I'll redo it. Nobody's going to taste something bad out of my kitchen unless I didn't cook it."
In addition to this love of food, cooking, and an innate talent for coming up with dishes that please his friends and family's palettes; Andy brings in his amateur bartending skills. Amateur they may be, but skilled they are as well. No flair or fancy tricks, but this boy can mix up a martini or margarita with a definite kick.
Andy sprang one of his signature drinks, the Power Drill, on Matt when first they met up in Minneapolis. Why the Power Drill? "It's a screwdriver. On steroids. But it's a shot." Makes sense.
Matt's reaction? "The first one's so good you want to do another. The second one's so
good you have to do another. The third one's so good that you can
barely order another. The fourth one makes you forget where you live."