Feb 14th, 2007
Contributors
Leslie Pave – Founder of Deglazed
I decided to become a chef in 1999 after a brief career in advertising. Like most newbies, I started as a prep cook. After culinary school, I lived and cooked in Florence, Italy at Cavalo Nero in the Oltrano district. It took a couple of months before the chefs let me do much, but when the sous chef didn’t show up one night, they had to let me help, and from then on, each night was a new lesson in the rich, yet simple food that is Italian cuisine. After seeing the integrity of Italian food, I was drawn to work with sustainable food companies, such as Niman Ranch, Wild Sage Foods and SustainLane, taping into my marketing history. Catering paid the bills for many years and I got to see the intense choreography that it takes to put out a near perfect dinner for 2000 people. My own personal chef parties were much smaller but still focused on seasonal and the highest quality of ingredients. The most rewarding position was as a cooking teacher for children, introducing them to local, seasonal and sustainably produced foods. It’s a myth that kids won’t eat anchovies or green things. I tried my hand at food writing, but loved it more as a hobby. Please see my published work and visit my blogs, Deglazed and MenuBoom. Now it’s back to marketing and PR but this time for the food industry. What could be better?
More contributors to come