Posted: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:46 PM - 12,079 Readers

By: Hoss Zare

After my last blog post, I can’t think of anything more fitting than getting to share my experience at the Lake Austin Spa Resort. Talk about relaxing while you work! Don’t worry, I’m not going to go on and on about getting massages and foot rubs. Rather, this is a great opportunity to tell you about how I approach chef events, and what made this one special. (About the spa, I will say this: They do it right.)

I have to thank Corinne Trang because if it were not for her, I would not have been invited to do this. Corinne’s record speaks for itself. They call her “the Julia Child of Asian cuisine” and she’s an amazingly talented individual. I met her a while back through Facebook and mutual friends. Last year, we did an event together at Seghesio. When she found out about the changes I was making regarding my health, she promised to sign me up for the event, where she had worked before. Also there with us was Eric Asimov. At first, meeting Eric was a wonderful professional opportunity, but by the end of the week, it became a true personal pleasure spending time with both of these people. We got to know each other by sharing meals, opinions, and laughs.

Together, we catered a reception on the last day. The theme of the event was world cuisine with an emphasis on health. Corinne represented Asia and I represented the Middle East. Eric paired wines for both of us.

My other responsibility was presenting a cooking demonstration featuring three recipes. As a chef, you are always nervous outside of your kitchen because you don’t know what to expect and what type of facility you’ll use. The head chef at the spa did an amazing job making things easy for me. Before I went, he emailed me asking for a list of ingredients. He found everything — except sour grapes. Plus, they have an amazing garden. If I needed, for example, a little more cilantro, I just went outside with scissors.


One of the most exciting things about doing a demo is that I get to share my personality to people. Sometimes people think of a chef as someone with dirty pants, maybe with a little attitude. Or they think of a celebrity on a pedestal, all of which create a point of disconnection between chef and audience.

My goal, always, is to change those notions.

Before I started the demo, I walked in front of my table so there was nothing separating us. I told them about who I am and what made me become a chef. I wanted them to understand the most important thing about my job: Food brings people together. Forget religion, sexuality, or politics; food breaks boundaries.

One of the things I taught them is that my style of cooking is about experimentation. The biggest problem people have cooking at home is that they panic when they can’t follow the recipe. I want them to understand that they can substitute flavors based on their preference or availability. This isn’t dessert, where you have to follow the recipe exactly, I tell them. This is savory food. A good rule of thumb is that you can always add more to what you’re doing. However, you can’t take something out. I want them to be free to experiment. Maybe this sounds simple to the savvy readers of Inside Scoop, but you’d be surprised how liberating this is for people to hear.

The final thing I try to present is how cooking together inspires closeness. I asked for volunteers and got the assistance of two grandchildren in the audience. Afterwards, I asked them to share how much fun they’d had cooking with me. They were so cute and everyone clapped for them. I urged people to cook with their husbands, wives, kids, or friends. Just being in the kitchen together can be enough. For example, if it is a one-person operation, assign a simple task like cutting vegetables or pouring wine. We should never sit in front of the TV while the other person prepares the food. So much about food is intimacy and communication, and that’s what I want people to walk away with.

That afternoon, leaning back for a picture during our kayak ride, I fell fully dressed into the water. Quickly, the word spread throughout the Lake Austin that the chef had gotten soaked.

Like a demo, it’s nice to have an icebreaker during a food and wine reception. Apparently, my kayak debacle became that icebreaker. The guests couldn’t talk to me without a little lighthearted laughter. Despite swearing them to secrecy, saying, “What happens at Lake Austin stays at Lake Austin,” I imagine them sharing the story with their friends and family.

Who knows, maybe they will relate it while preparing dinner together.

*  Story Contributed by: Hoss Zare