Chef Introduction

It just occurred to me that I have yet to talk about who I am and why should you read my blog or listen to my podcast.... Silly me.

I am Chef Elaina Alexander, a pastry chef, Chicago native, age 45, wife and mother of three teenagers. I have been in the food service industry since 1988. Please don't do the math on that, LOL. I have worked as some of the best prestigious hotels, sporting stadiums, and restaurants in the Chicago. I currently live in a South suburban town just outside of Chicago and I work as a chef instructor for two organizations serving young people. I also serve a small clientele through my service for custom created cake specialties.

As a culinary educator I work with kids from 5 - 8th grade and 9th - 12th grades. This phase of my career is somewhat new. I started teaching about a year ago and it has been great. I have wanted to do some mentoring with upcoming new aspiring chefs, and I have done a little, but teaching has been more rewarding that I originally expected. All of the kids I work with are minority kids in two under-served areas on the South side of Chicago.

When I entered the industry, all those years ago, the number of options to learn the craft in a educational outlet was quite limited, in fact, if I am not mistaken, there were just three school in America, at the time. Since then additional outlets have sprung up or added culinary department to their universities. After completion of my culinary production education, I was recruited to continue my education at Roosevelt University where I studied hospitality management, graduating with my Bachelors degree. I went back to school a few years ago and studied for my M.B.A online.

I have had the pleasure to serve Dick Chaney, Barrack Obama, Bill Clinton, Carol Mosley Braun, Ray Nagin, the McCaskey family, and a host of NFL stars and their families, to name a few. I have always enjoyed working with all the differing groups of people that my career has afforded me to work for and with. Each opportunity has given me more than I gave away. But my heart has often gone out and been the happiest when I have worked with social organizations. I worked for a homeless center for women only in Chicago named Deborah's Place, a couple of church organizations, and now in a community center and a Chicago Public High School.

I strive to constantly learn more and improve myself each day. I have been blessed to continue in this field for all these years and I am looking forward to see where my path is going to take me next. My eldest child is now a college freshmen looking to study nutrition, I guess my influence has been productive.

The more I submit, the more you can get to know me.Since everything and everyone is touched by food, health, diet, the food industry, and food and diet trends, I will strive to talk to all of those subjects and more as time goes by.

Stay tuned.