Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen (Part 1: Meet the Chef)

We first met Alyssa Gorelick at the Lenny Boy Tap Room, where she introduced the wonderful flavors of Lenny Boy, the Common Grounds food stand, and almost as an afterthought, her cooking classes at Atherton Market. Part of it was probably because the classes were just kicking off, but a larger part of it is Chef Alyssa personality. She has an impressive list of culinary achievements, a magnificent menu repertoire, and an amazing ability to describe flavors, but you would never know if you didn’t ask.

Chef Alyssa is a Charlotte native, with a long-running passion for delicious locally sourced foods, and a culinary degree from the Art Institute.  She started out her restaurant training with Halcyon, and was the executive chef at Fern, when the restaurant opened. Not one to rest on her laurels, she embarked on her current venture, cooking classes at Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen.

Her calm, graceful nature lends itself well to the classroom, and she does a great job explaining the foods and techniques she uses. Chef Alyssa also has a knack for creating unique entrees that expose people to ingredients they otherwise might not encounter. She does not subscribe to any particular diet or food group, but reiterated to us her commitment to sustainable whole foods. She prefers using unprocessed, local ingredients in her cooking, and brings those values into her classes. Many of the farm stands in Atherton Market provide the produce and dairy that is used in them.

Chef Alyssa’s classes are fairly new, starting in June 2013, and each class focuses on a theme or ingredient. Recent offerings were Super Bowl Spread, Valentines Eve Special, Try Thai, and the Seasonal Vegetarian class which we attended, but more on that in Part 2. For now let us say that Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen is a wonderful asset to those of us wishing to do more in our own kitchens, and someday we hope that we can enjoy her delicious recipes in our kitchens without doing the work.