Chef Tami

I have been cooking ever since I was big enough to reach the kitchen counter while standing on a step stool. Well actually I was “cooking” mud pies even before that! I was in the medical field almost 25 years doing everything from patient care to running a couple of clinics and in the process gleaned a lot of information about how food can affect our health. Over the years, I became very ill due to numerous food allergies and Celiac disease. This made eating in general very difficult. One day in 2008, after working a long day at work I went to several stores searching for GF food I could actually eat. I spent $10 on one blueberry muffin. It looked beautiful and I was starved for something with sugary goodness. I took one bite and spit it out in the trash! I was thoroughly disgusted as I am very frugal and I had just spit out a $10 bill essentially! So in my outrage that someone could actually sell something so disgusting made me determined to do better. Then as I researched, and tested. I discovered it was possible to make great tasting,  healthy, and safe food! Thus my food journey began and I have been cooking GF, DF, Paleo, Vegan, AIP, and Postpartum Recovery foods.  In a way, my autoimmune issues gave me a new understanding of food and how food can change our health for the better. I would rather spend money on food than medication anyday. 

When I think about my favorite foods to cook it is foods that I consider comfort foods. Like my Grandmother’s Southern Cornbread, pecan pies, and  homemade peppermint candy ice cream. Or authentic ethnic foods, like kimchi, bulgogi, hummus, lamb korma, tikka masala, guacamole and burritos. As I have become more experienced as a Chef I have discovered so many interesting cuisines and flavors. I love experimenting with new dishes. 

Growing up and cooking with my family was our way of showing love. We would have the whole block of neighbors meet around our house and we would cook for everyone. It’s some of my fondest memories. I love taking my grandmother’s old recipes that are full of everything I can’t have because of my food allergies and transforming them into something that will transport me back in time to her kitchen with all the taste and smells of that time. I remember working years on my grandmother’s 4 layer Red Velvet cake to convert the recipe into something that I could eat. I don’t think you should ever have to compromise taste or textures because you are on a special diet. When I’m cooking I feel like my most authentic self. 

Becoming a Chef has allowed me to share my love of food with others. I especially love it when someone gets to have that southern biscuit that is GF but looks, tastes and feels like their Grandmother’s Southern biscuits. This is the moment when a person is brought to tears because they didn’t even realize how much they missed it. They had just accepted the fact they would never be able to eat one again. That’s the moment I know I’m doing exactly what I was born to do.