Patricia Chapman, Chief Culineer
Food pro, Entrepreneur, Curiosity addict
about culineering & why we want you to join us!
My Personal Essay
I’ve had such a lifelong fascination with food and food prep that I’ve come to think there are some of us who just have a piece of our DNA that makes us food prep addicts. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense! If you go back to the days when we were living in caves, or even out on the prairie, there had to be someone to take on the task of feeding everyone, and if you got pleasure from it and felt a connection, you probably did a great job. And guess what, your tribe thrived because they ATE, and your Food DNA got passed down. Uh, I forgot to mention, I am not a biologist, so if any of you out there are, please correct me if I’m full of you-know-what.
I started cooking in earnest at age 13, but didn’t have my own restaurant and some formal training until I was in my early 30’s. However, the years I spent doing other stuff increased the depth and breadth of my food knowledge, experience and exposure. For example, while traveling a lot on business, I ate out nonstop, and became fluent in regional offerings along with the chance to dine at some great restaurants in New York and other top food cities.
Picture Austin, Texas in the 80’s: some of the best Mexican food restaurants were found in converted gas stations. BBQ havens were often in modest roadside cinder block buildings where a line formed every morning, and they were sold out by 9am (maybe earlier). Anyway, I probably learned more from these little places, where the offerings were uber-local, food made in small batches from scratch, representing someone’s lifetime love of a food genre. It’s humbling.
Along the way, I toured vineyards, wine caves, chocolate factories, fell in love with New York delicatessens, learned fried rice from a Viet Nam native, and finagled my way into tours and stages (mini apprentice/grunt work episodes) of fine commercial kitchens, including several in Italy. My Boot Camp team at the Culinary Institute of America won top honors, and I made some friends for life. I am not an expert with web site building, Pinterest or Instagram, so please bear with me as I ramp up those skills and collaborate with the geniuses who are awesome with such stuff.
I am a Certified Cellar Manager, food safety pro, a finance geek, Project Management Professional, Certified Treasury Professional, MBA, and music fan. I have some food trivia depth, but on a 1 to 10 scale, I am not a 10; maybe an 8. Challenge me any time. As a Denverite, I am a pretty avid summer mountaineer and winter snowsports person.
But here and now, I am a Culineer. I am dedicated to writing, experimenting and photographing food for the people who also love these things. And yes, it doesn’t always have to be something new or weird; there is also great joy in making a beloved dish over and over. Along with recipes for everyday living I’m excited to share the countless tips and skills I learned from commercial kitchens and insanely talented home cooks. I truly want to hear what you would like to take on, what successes and “learning experiences” you’ve had prepping food, something awesome you just had, and tips about where to go for great restaurant food.
We hope you will check back often and Subscribe/Follow Culineering.com so you can effortlessly know what we have just dropped into the mix.
My hiking Buddy, Mojo
Get in touch
Patricia is always available for collaborations. If you want to chat about food, or anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out. (links below not yet updated)
Contact@Culineering.com
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