THE CHOPPING BLOCK – CHEF PROFILES
Paul Christian Boedeker
Favorite class to teach:
Pasta Workshop
Training/education:
Kendall College School for Culinary Arts
Cooking since:
16 years old
Favorite childhood food experience:
Making cucumber relish at Grandma's with a hand-crank grinder using fresh vegetables from the garden
What made you want to become a chef?
Sharing my talents for food and flavor with others and their appreciation of it.
What is your signature dish?
Grilled venison tenderloin with a sour-cherry, port sauce and sautéed Brussel sprouts with caramelized onions and toasted almonds.
What are the 5 ingredients you can't live without?
Cheese, Chocolate, Eggs, Garlic, Bacon
What do you love about cooking?
We all have to eat for survival and to stay healthy, why not make it as enjoyable as possible. The world offers us thousands of ingredients, use them creatively.
When you're creating a new recipe, what influences and inspires you?
Natural flavors from fresh ingredients.
What advice would you give a new cook?
Be organized. Don't be afraid of mistakes, sometimes they are delicious.
What are you doing when you're not cooking?
Eating
Describe your perfect evening.
Friends with good wine, cheese and crusty, rustic bread.
If you had friends in from out of town, where would you take them to eat?
Gino's East. Its casual, fun and no one else comes close with the pan pizza.
Where are you from?
Fort Wayne, IN
What was your favorite vacation?
The French countryside—Loire Valley or Périgord regions.
What are your hobbies?
Home improvement, anything on the lakefront.
What is your favorite band?
It's always changing.
What is your favorite sports team?
Chicago Cubs
If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?
A hungry person from a poor country. That person could see what critical fools we (myself as a US citizen) are when it comes to food and the abuse of it. Perhaps, I would gain appreciation for what our country has to offer in quality, and quantity; not take for granted even simple staples. Yes, food can be an art or expression of ones culinary talents, but it all boils down to a means of survival, we must not forget that.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Ice cream or anything chocolate…anything.
Who is your favorite celebrity chef?
The late Julia Child. Honey, I like it boozy too!
What 5 tools should every new cook have in the kitchen?
Sharp chef knife, large cutting board, whisk, immersion blender, heat-resistant rubber spatula.
What resources would you suggest for Chopping Block clients?
General cookbooks such as The Joy of Cooking, Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, these offer simple straightforward recipes for the basics which you can tweak or expand upon. Also for technique, ingredient information and recipies look at Culinary school texts such as The Culinary Institute of America, Le Cordon Bleu or On Cooking by Sarah Labanski.
List/describe three of your favorite tips or techniques you use in the kitchen.
Patience: some things just should not be rushed. Searing and caramelizing: importing for moisture content of meats and flavor. Seasoning: use it to enhance not mask flavors.
Please supply any blogs, links, posts, or other social media that you wish to share.
Yelp website: Great for restaurant feedback and an aid to decision making when you can't decide where to dine and learn of others experiences. Plus it goes beyond restaurants…any business.