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Success Stories  |
Chef Clay Russell Current Job: Special Assistant to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Describe your current job: I am the personal assistant to the Governor of California. I travel with him almost everywhere he goes (including vacation, sometimes). I worked for him and his family for several years before he was elected to office. Reason he chose to attend The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago: The flexible hours. I could work my other job while attending school. I thought I'd be able to fit in classes around my other job, selling menswear at Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan Avenue. As it turned out, I switched to my personal chef job at the same time I started school, but the flexible hours at the school were still a big plus, since I went to class in the mornings and worked afternoons and evenings. First cooking experience: At about age ten, I had the Betty Crocker Cookbook, with lots of neat pictures, and I remember making pancakes and waffles, cakes (I always thought the "Lord Baltimore" and "Lady Baltimore" sounded especially exotic), penuche frosting, and fudge (which I still haven't mastered!). First job in the industry: Personal chef to a gentleman in Chicago (at the same time I was attending The Cooking and Hospitality Institute) Moment he knew he wanted to be a chef: 1997. It was an epiphany of sorts, that I should try to make a living doing something I'd always loved doing. Biggest influence: Julia Child. As a kid, I watched her on TV, and she made cooking seem fun. I started working my way through "The French Chef Cookbook" around age ten. First dish I made from that book - Steak au Poivre. Mentors/favorite chefs and writers: In school: Chef Peladeau. All my instructors were good at conveying technical skill, but Chef Peladeau's mantra - "Wit' love...always wit' love" - really hit home. After all, I cooked because I loved cooking. There are many great technicians, but very few chefs whose pure love of what they do shows in their cooking. Most fulfilling part of the job: I don't cook professionally any more, but it was always very satisfying to see my employers eat what I made, like it, and say, "Boy, that was good!" Worst part of the job: Cleaning up afterwards (when working alone as a private chef). Most challenging part of the job: Staying creative. Future goals for his career: That's a big question mark, considering where Life has taken me this far A piece of advice to a student who wants to be a personal chef/assistant: Pinpoint your passion (a phrase from one of Maria Shriver's books), but also stay flexible and be open to new situations. Is there anything you want to tell current and future students? Read cookbooks, new AND old. (Escoffier is fascinating. Also older editions of Larousse Gastronomique.) Tip: You can find lots of very old, oddball cookbooks on eBay, often quite cheaply. There's a lot to be learned from them. What can young chefs do today to reach their goals? N/A (since I'm not really in "the industry") Favorite ingredient: butter Favorite kitchen tools: My knives (I've had the same set of Henckels 4-star knives for twenty years) Favorite thing to eat when nobody is watching: Taco Bell Favorite person to cook for: my partner-in-life Favorite dish to prepare: Steak (because I'm good at it, and I HATE paying steakhouse prices for it) If you were not a personal assistant, what would you be? I'd still be personal-cheffing. I loved the people I worked for and I'm still in touch with most of them. |
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