ABOUT DARREN
They say that necessity is the mother of invention and so it was with my chef journey. I didn’t grow up cooking. I never spent hours in the kitchen with grandma learning the magic ingredient of love (though I ate plenty of her food!). Never watched a minute of Emeril yelling “Bam” on the Food Network either. No, I only started cooking after naively opening a cafe to realize my dream of being an entrepreneur and partly to avoid the pitfalls of corporate American life! Failing to find a good chef, I took matters into my own hands. Countless hours of YouTube cooking videos, burnt onions, and half-read cookbooks later, I've become a chef of sorts and I'm here now to share my love of cooking with you!
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For me, food is a means to an end rather than the end itself. Yes, eating good food is one of the great simple pleasures of life and should be enjoyed as such. But I believe food can be more, like an opportunity to learn and grow, meet new people and build community. Good food can fill our souls as well as our bellies. Yes I am a chef but mostly I'm someone who uses food as a means to connect people, with the land, with each other and with themselves.
My Food Philosophy
It wasn’t until I taught myself how to cook that I started caring about what I put in my body. When I started cooking for others especially, I began to feel a responsibility toward their and my own health,
which began a learning journey of nutrition and human health.
We live in a toxic food environment where the cheapest, most convenient and tastiest foods are also the least healthy for us. In short, we are set up for failure and it’s harder than ever to eat and be healthy. I believe chefs have a responsibility to lead the way to creating a healthier food environment and to make it tasty! My food philosophy has evolved over the years but I generally subscribe to the simple guidance of food author Michael Pollen: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.
My cuisine centers around whole, unprocessed ingredients with a focus on making plants, in particular, taste delicious. I am careful not to demonize foods or unnecessarily limit options. The nutrition landscape is so confusing these days but it doesn't have to be: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much. I believe it's possible to eat healthfully, deliciously and responsibly and it is my mission to help you do just that!
Cheers!
