Hi, I’m Chef Peter.
I have spent most of my adult life in a kitchen! I have run Restaurants, worked several lines, paid my dues in the industry. I have grew up in pizza joints and decided to get a college education after many years in the culinary industry. So I studied at the University of Johnson & Wales and received my degree in Culinary Arts. After school, I worked in a box chain restaurant. Then, I moved to the country club world. There I continued to study food under the guidance of a culinary Olympian gold medal chef. I spent the next 5 years learning everything I could. I fed all walks of life from celebrities, to top athletes, to families just gathering for a meal, and yes politicians. Feeling I needed to move on, I found another chef who I felt had more to offer I spent many days working one on one with him. Learning as I went. I then had an offer fell into my lap to grow again! I took on the roll of Executive Banquette Chef at another club. I loved that job. until Covid hit. My job was soon eliminated so what is a chef to do but learn some new skills. We all cook from home so why not share some of what I have learned with you! I have now found I love encouraging people to cook from home.
My Approach
Cooking is a way of comunicating emotion, creating memories for the people you cook for. While most people go out to dinner and look for the amazing food. They have missed the point. The people you are eating with are sharing an intimate part of your life with you, that is the point. Knowing this drives me to make the best food I can so that the people I cook for can laugh, cry, fall in love, celebrate a life event, or help people mourn a lost loved one. The fact remains food will always be part of our human existence. It is my job as a chef to help you and allow you to have the unbridled experience of connecting with each other. Only a few other things in our world allow us to connect on this level. Music, art, sports, while they create emotion and memories, they don’t compete with having a drink while at a rock concert is amazing. Having a canape while contemplating the art work on the wall creates an existential crises. Having a hot dog at a baseball game is a spiritual event. Without the common connection of food, we fail as humans… We fail to connect… We fail to understand… We fail to love each other… I don’t like to fail so it is my passion to help as many people learn to cook and to cook for as many people as I can. To connect with or help them connect with other people. When you bite into an amazing dish, your face lights up and then you want to share the same joy with other people at your table. The first words out of your mouth are “Oh my, you have to try this!” As they taste the food, you get a glimpse of the joy they just had, thus connecting you in time and space.
400 salads about to go out for a party. This was so much fun to do!
Cook with passion cook with love!
Cook with passion
What is passion? Passion is a strong enthusiasm for a subject a person or thing. Well in order to cook with passion, you have to have love and excitement for where your food comes from. What do I mean by this? Well, where does your hamburger come from? For some of you the answer will be the local grocery store. For a chef, the answer is much more complex. We need to know what farm the cow came from, how it was raised, what it ate. Its age and what part of the country it grazed in. All of these factors add to a complex flavor profile that chefs have to decode to match the right seasoning and dish and sauce to go with the beef you are eating. Now finding out where your local grocery store gets the beef from should not be a hard task, just ask. I am sure they will tell you everything I just mentioned. If the butcher says it comes from a factory or meat processing plant then look the plant up and see where they buy the beef. Do not be afraid of seeing how your meat is prepared. There are laws in place to protect the animals whom we consume. The point is passion comes from understanding. Being able to make something amazing and having success and enjoying the process while having respect and honoring the animal you are cooking with. I can not give you passion, passion comes from the soul and the heart. The soccer fanatic’s every 4 years gather to cheer on their nations soccer team with every bit of energy they can. Bob Ross was passionate about teaching you how to paint. We now have the phrase “ happy little trees” or “ happy accidents” because of Bob Ross. So if you are passionate about a style of food, follow that passion explore its complex story. Examine the how, the what and the why. This will lead to a better understanding and bring you more joy and love into your life.
Cook with Love
I was once told by a chef that cooking with love is the key ingredient. My initial thought is how is that possible. Following a recipe is how you cook. After stewing on this statement for a few days, it came to light. I watched a fellow chef make a dish and plate it. It looked good and was done with acceptable execution. My Executive Chef looked at me and said “now I’ll make the same dish.” He prepped everything from scratch where as my fellow chef grabbed what he could that had already been prepped. The sauce he sent through a strainer 3 times just to get it smooth and achieve the right texture. The protein was seasoned perfectly and seared evenly. Each step was a lesson in passion and love. He was meticulous in his execution and his focus was only on the dish. Finally it was done! While it was the same dish the taste was dramatically different and the plate up was a work of art. He looked at me smiled and said “ That is cooking with love” What had I just witnessed, someone who loved cooking and was willing to make sure every ingredient was handle the way it needed to be handled. Each step of the process he knew how to do with out a recipe. He knew how to make the sauce feel and taste at the same time. the vegetables seemed to taste different, but yet I watched both chefs cook them the same way. However my Executive Chef’s tasted cleaner and more fresh and some how just better. Why I asked myself. Love is the only answer Love allowed him to see things others would over look. Seconds in a pan, make a difference. Knowing when to pull them from the heat. He was in a Zen like state while cooking and the final result was a dish made with love.