Chef Brings His Work Home

BY ANNE KALLAS

Like so many parents, Chef John Lechleidner wants a work/ life balance that allows him to be with his family. Working full-time in a restaurant doesn’t allow for that.

Lechleidner had risen to the top of his profession, having worked for 20 years at Wolfgang Puck kitchens in Las Vegas (Postrio at the Venetian and Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesars) and in Atlantic City, NJ, (American Grille at the Borgata) before moving to Los Angeles where he eventually helped head up the kitchen at WP24 in the Ritz-Carlton at L.A. Live.

When the pandemic hit, it was especially hard on the restaurant business, and suddenly Lechleidner was able to spend more time at home in Sherman Oaks with his family: wife Jennifer Lechleidner and children Quinn, 7, and Thurston, 4. Ultimately, he decided to become a stay-at-home dad.

“In a restaurant, you work 12- to 16-hour days and nights, weekends and holidays. It’s not conducive to having kids and a family,” he says. “My wife works in production, and her job has a lot more flexibility. If I stay at home, it gives us a lot more freedom to do things with the kids.”

Going from the top echelons of the culinary world to making kiddie lunches was quite an adjustment, and Lechleidner found he needed something else to scratch his creative itch.

So he started a video blog, or vlog, A Chef and His Spoon, where he shares recipes and tips in short succinct videos using voice-over and low-key music.

“Restaurant dishes are very involved. I didn’t know how to translate that to YouTube. I thought, ‘What can I do to simplify things but still have that restaurant taste?’” he says. “I have a salmon dish that I posted. Everyone at home buys a small salmon tail filet. You won’t see that in a restaurant. You need an inch-high piece of salmon that you take and portion for nice square pieces. It’s taking the restaurant mentality of cooking and applying it to quick, home-cooked meals.

Fine cooking is not as scary as you think it is.”

The vlog also serves to preserve and pass down recipes from his childhood to the next generation, such as his mom’s cranberry apple cake that takes three to four days until it’s ready to eat.

In addition to creating and posting easy restaurant-quality meals, Lechleidner also has to make meals for his two fairly picky children who have food allergies and can’t eat eggs. He has created an eggless pavlova recipe using aquafaba from cans of chickpeas that is not only great for his children, but is also vegan—using whipped coconut milk.

Lechleidner’s mother, Debra Lechleidner, says John has always been interested in food. She praises her middle child, between two sisters— “like bookends. He was always the calm one in the house.

“Since he was young, he had interest in food and in preparing it. I did some of the cooking. So did his dad,” says Debra. “I wouldn’t say we were adventurous food eaters as a family. Out of all my kids, he was the one who was a good eater. Not fussy. Always willing to try things.”

Because Debra lives in New Jersey she doesn’t get to see her son as often as she would like. The YouTube videos help—even if it isn’t a two-way conversation. “I do watch his videos,” she says. “I’m very proud of him.”

Now that John has been regularly making videos, he’s branched out into creating custom spice mixes, called Spoon Spices. In a recent video, where he makes his version of Chef Thomas Keller’s baked zucchini, John uses his caponata spice blend: tomato powder, orange peel, basil, parsley, oregano, dried kalamata olives, peppers and capers, chili flakes, fennel and oregano.

To make the blends, John has rented kitchen space in Van Nuys where he can work in a sanitary environment that meets licensing requirements. He spends a lot of time trying to figure out the best herbs and spices that bring their flavor to his mixes. “I try different samples. I know what fresh marjoram smells and tastes like. I compare the taste and get the ones that match,” says John, who hopes to create unique spice and herb mixes that stand out from the crowd.

Follow A Chef and His Spoon on YouTube: YouTube.com/@achefandhisspoon

Find Chef John’s spice and herb blends at SpoonSpices.com.

John shares some of his favorite seasonal recipes in the following pages to help us to bring fine dining into our own homes.

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