Meeting
Michael
Saxer
For as long
as I can
remember,
I have always
enjoyed
eating and
being around
food. Even
as a youngster,
I could
feel that
the kitchen
was a fun
place, filled
with colorful
ingredients,
enticing
aromas,
and cheerful
people.
I used to follow
my mom around
as she would
collect
food from
our own
backyard
– apples,
pecans,
apricots,
lettuces,
pumpkins,
even Concorde
grapes,
which she’d
use to make
jellies
and homemade
hooch.
I
feel this
same sort
of adventure
when I visit
local groceries
and markets
every day,
to collect
the freshest
ingredients,
which I
take back
to the kitchen
and work
with to
make meals
that delight
the palette
and leave
diners completely
satisfied:
not too
hungry,
not too
full.
All the elements
of a good
restaurant
- the atmosphere,
ambiance,
wait staff,
well-planned
delicious
foods, and
heartfelt
conversations
and moments
among family
and friends
– are things
that I’ve
always loved
and still
find fascinating.
After working
in restaurants
like Commander’s Palace, La Provence, NOLA, and then as a chef and sous chef in Gautreau’s for three years, I got beat down by the grueling day-to-day pace and the demands My mind was always preoccupied with the pressures of the job.Those pressures didn’t satisfy
me.
I yearned for
more balance,
to experience
the organic
process of
collecting
food, applying
my own creativity,
and making
meals that
mean something
to me and the
people who
enjoyed them.
I was ready
to quit the
business before
I found out
about the opportunity
to be a private
chef.
Now my lifestyle and job are more relaxed. My mind is quieter and less stressed. The comfortable pace I enjoy as a private chef is hopefully something everyone can enjoy in their own lives and kitchens.
The result is greater creativity and more overall enjoyment in the kitchen and in life.
