Meet Your Chefs The chef-instructors of the CIA have a wealth of career and personal experiences that shape every course they teach. Here are two members of our celebrated faculty who you may be learning from in your next class.
Michael Katz Based at the San Antonio, TX campus, Chef Katz brings nearly two decades of industry experience to the CIA teaching kitchens. Among his many previous positions, Chef Katz has a favorite: chef/owner of Rosemary Lane Café in Naples, FL. “It was there that I developed a true passion for the industry,” he says, adding that he also discovered the formula for culinary career success. “Organization, experience, and knowing the guest in order to plan the menu; these lessons have guided me through my entire career.” Chef Katz now shares his expansive knowledge with passionate foodies enrolled at the CIA—and emphasizes that non-professionals can achieve great culinary results. “You don’t need the best equipment, pots, pans, and knives to create great food,” he says. “You can still create the same flavors as in the finest commercial kitchens as long as technique reigns supreme. For example, if you know how to cut julienne or small dice, you can use practically any sharp knife; if you understand the principle of searing, most pans will do. You will learn all of this at CIA Boot Camp.” While Chef Katz has prepared elegant meals in fine restaurants, he also appreciates the importance of simpler dishes. “Comfort food should remind you of soothing childhood food or bring you back to some of the happiest food moments in your life,” he says. In fact, he’s helping to create those happy memories for his three children with comforting fare like fresh pasta, tamales, homemade pizza, fried rice dishes, and potstickers.
www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts
Howie Velie If your idea of the quintessential chef is fire-and-brimstone Gordon Ramsey, you’ll find Howie Velie to be a delightful surprise. Soft-spoken and unflappable, Chef Velie communicates his love of cooking through a teaching style that conveys his more than quarter-century as an enthusiastic and accomplished chef. While he has prepared the finest meals for hotels, corporations, and independent restaurants, Chef Velie is also a believer in comfort food. “Having travelled a bit across the world, I know that comfort food means something different to different people,” he says. “But the thread that runs through all comfort food is that it is simple and satisfying— and it should make you happy.” When he kicks back at home, Chef Velie favors stews and braised dishes such as goulash, chilis, curries, and pot roasts. “I enjoy braising because it is complex and requires a great deal of attention to be really good,” he says. “I have held the title of chef for well over 25 years, but really I see myself as a cook. I just love to cook, plain and simple.” And Chef Velie especially loves to cook with locally grown ingredients, as he did when he had his own restaurant, Magnolia, in central Virginia. It’s a philosphy and practice he is eager to share with his students, whom he is quick to say he learns from as well. “I enjoy teaching the food enthusiast classes because wherever people are from, we all speak the same language—food,” he says. “I love the passion our food enthusiasts bring into each and every class.”
Issue 15
TASTE 21