Chef Mateo

"Man gotta cook, woman too."  -Mateo

Not everyone apprenticed in France or attended a great culinary school to learn how to cook.  It is more likely that you learned how to cook from your parents or grandmother, and have been fueling your passion for the art of cooking by taking classes, reading cookbooks, and watching food t.v. shows.  Chances are you are an accomplished professional in some field other than cooking, but excel in displaying your artistic creativity in the kitchen for family and friends.  This puts you in the category of “Home Chef” - a person who is skilled at making delicious home cooked meals, often using very complicated recipes, maintaining a quality difficult to duplicate in most restaurants, displaying a personal flair and touch unique to your own style.

As a Home Chef you have total control of your dining experience, from the menu to the table setting to the music to the shopping for ingredients.  The wine list is under your direct supervision and desert can be made or ordered. You alone are responsible for the feelings your guest have as they share in your vision of a great meal.

What should we make of all the food trends and fads sweeping across America's kitchens?  At the end of the day, chefs and home cooks crave food that tastes good and speaks of history, shared experiences and roots - food that our mothers and grandmothers prepared for us.  Warm plates of goodness that were waiting for us after school or holiday feasts that required a day's journey to the sublime. Recipes made out of whatever ingredients were available, where the simplest cooking techniques brought out the natural essence and flavor of the food. And that principle, the simpler the better, is the heart of Haitian cooking.

Whether you are an accomplished chef, a home cook, or just picking up your first pots and pans, Haitian cooking will reward you and your guests for a lifetime of eating to come.