Private Chef Gaby Columbia, MO, United States

Sustainable chef and culinary instructor

My cooking style is strongly influenced by the region in which we are booking the service, the season and availability from nearby farms. I am obsessed with the best flavor, and I believe food taste better when it’s cooked as soon as it’s picked. I’m passionate about sustainability and I’m driven by cooking methods that aim to use the whole animal and reduce waste. My ethnic background plays a huge role as well, but I don’t like to limit my cuisine by one genre. My clients inspire me overall, I want you to feel nurtured and taken care of.

From an early age I found that happiness meant feeding people. I’m an immigrant from Venezuela, where my mom owned a restaurant and where I learned I had a passion for food that went beyond just eating. I moved to the US with my family as a teenager, and like most immigrants, I had a dream. I wanted to be a great chef, and I wanted to feed people for a living. My career started out working at various high-end and casual restaurants. And later on - my path wasn’t easy - I put myself through the Culinary Arts program at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids Iowa while raising my daughter. Shortly after graduation, I started my own personal chef and catering business, a role I quite enjoyed and loved. My experience in the private sector led me to Missouri to work in the household of a prominent family. Upon completion of my contract, I joined the a private Montessori School as the chef and there I was given the opportunity to develop a wonderful food program based in sustainability, culture, and food justice. This led me to develop a passion for private cooking classes with kids in their own homes.

Caribbean, French, Health, Japanese, Latin, Spanish