The Apprenticeship Of Chef Wonderful

In the late 1960s, my stepfather took a job with the International Labor Organization, a division of the United Nations. As a productivity expert his first posting was Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is where my tutelage as a chef began. We employed a master chef named Tiba, a classically trained French chef. Cambodia was colonized by the French and their culture is still engrained there.

At that time there were no American Schools in Cambodia so I was home schooled by a French teacher who came to our home at 10:00am. Tiba would rise at 5:00am to beat the mid-morning heat and go to the central market located on the banks of the Mekong River. She would take me every morning to be her Sherpa. It was there that I began my journey into Tiba’s unique style of Asian-French cuisine.

Cambodia is very hot so heavy cream sauces are to be avoided. Instead, Tibe would create alternatives made from fresh limes, coconut cream and unique Asian spices. When we were back from the market, I would assist Tiba until my teacher arrived.

Today, you can taste these influences in my sauces and rubs. I owe so much to my days as Tiba’s assistant.

Every two years my stepfather was posted to a different country. We moved to Cyprus, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Switzerland, and France. The diversity of flavors and techniques transformed my cooking style. For example, my extensive use of couscous, long grain rice, and Zaatar spice came from my Mediterranean experiences in Tunis, Addis Abba, and Nicosia.

By the late 1970s, I was pairing dishes with French DRC burgundies and I started trading wine futures and began to stock my first wine cellar. My love of food is what drove my start in the wine business.

While attending the College from 1973-1977, I worked with the University’s Food Services to help pay for my tuition. I worked every Thursday and Friday night and most weekends preparing bar and food service for wedding and convention events. Some of these were attended by over 500 people. I had to lean on my experiences with Tiba to manage the logistics of preparing and plating main courses and deserts for events with that many people.

Today, my life is complicated as I am an investor in over 40 companies. However, I still keep my culinary chops by cooking most weekends. “Chef Wonderful” also cooks on television—I have appeared on ABC, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and Shark Tank. Every chef knows cooking it’s a journey not a destination!