Master chef dishes up secrets of Western cuisine

Bio

Christopher Koetke

Vice President, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts

Koetke was named vice-president of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in 2012. He joined the School of Culinary Arts in 1998, serving first as a culinary instructor and later as associate dean, dean and executive director. Under his leadership, the School of Culinary Arts was awarded the Academy of the Culinary Arts Cordon d' Or – Gold Ribbon Cooking School of the Year Culinary Academy Award for 2008. The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts is currently the top ranked school in Chicago for preparing students for careers in culinary arts (TNS Global Survey 2013.)

Koetke began cooking professionally in 1982, and has worked in some of the world's finest kitchens, including French restaurants Pavilion Elysees, Pierre Gagnaire, Taillevent, and Pierre Orsi. He is a certified executive chef and certified culinary educator by the American Culinary Federation. In 2009, he was named the Cooking Teacher of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He is the host of the Midwest Emmy-nominated cooking show "Let’s Dish" on the Live Well HD network and co-author of the award-winning The Culinary Professional.

Q&A

Q: What is the most important job of a chef?

A: The number one job of a chef is to make money. Chefs are not just cooks; we are the CEO of the kitchen. This is like that you cannot say the CEO of Toyota is just a mechanic. Similarly, the responsibility of chef is to make money with food, with our expertise in cooking, purchasing, course control, accounting, human resources, etc.

Q: Which Chinese cuisine are you best at?

A: It is difficult to answer because my specialty is not Chinese food, though I cook a lot of Mapo tofu (stewed bean curd with minced pork in pepper sauce). But when I travel across different countries, including China, I find that it is not necessary to recreate the food you learned there. It is more important to learn from the unique technique and idea there and mix them to create your own things.

Q: What are you most proud of in your professional career?

A: My students make me most proud. I remember a student I taught in my first class, Beverly Kim, who is already a very good chef in Chicago, invited my family and I to her own restaurant before it was officially opened, because she wanted to hear my advice. It is a great honor for me to share the very special moment with her 16 years after she graduated from my college.

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