Reno Chef Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve

I must admit I've never heard of Chef Rachael K. before. But it's not really that big of a surprise since she is a private chef after all. We spent two hours of our Saturday morning with her surpising food tasting creations paired with locally roasted coffees by Wood-Fire Roasted where I had an espresso tasting not long ago.

This culinary event was put together to sponsor two kids to the county's 4-H summer camp. (Well, it was supposed to be for one child, but enough money was raised to send two!). Chef Rachael has an amazing, affable energy and there was so much to like for that alone, but that will be doing her a disservice. Because the true merit of a chef lies in the ability to create, take risks, surprise, and at the end of it all, make people happy.

She succeeded in all accounts. While unabashedly wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Exhibit A: Caramel using duck fat served with meringue, a silk mousse, and meringue

Exhibit B: A deconstructed BLT with pork belly, bok choy, roasted tomatoes, red cabbage, avocado slices, and brioche with a lot of Asian notes in the "mayo"

Exhibit C: Duck roasted with sage with shallot confit, rhubarb demiglace served on a bed of celery root mash

In case you haven't noticed, one of the recurring themes of this blog is adventure sports in a male-dominated arena - hiking, mountain biking, some climbing, some skiing. In my own brave pursuits of what it means to live out being a tomboy, it is my hope that I am able to encourage other women to join me.

Today, in the most unusual of places, I realized the parallelisms between the outdoors and the kitchen - they are both dominated by men. And my heart swelled as Chef Rachael revealed to me while she was slicing and plating roasted duck that while it is an uphill battle, she's defining what it is to be a woman in the (commercial) kitchen. A gritty woman who used to run to the freezer before any man sees her cry. A woman of talent, tenacity, and yes, tenderness. But most of all, a woman of success.

I never noticed it before today but the women at the helm are outnumbered by men in the local culinary scene. And if there is someone to represent my kind out there - I'm glad it's her.

*

Today's event was put together at Tim Curry's Wood-Fire Roasted facility. The 3 course tasting menu was complimented by six (seven, counting the whiskey roast iced coffee we were handed upon arrival) coffees ranging from light to dark, roasted in house, by Tim Curry himself. If you're local to Reno and have never been to a coffee tasting and pairing event before but have the affinity with artisan anything, I highly recommend attending an event put on by Wood-Fire Roasted. For more information, here is their website.

For more of Chef Rachael K and to book her for events, click on her website here.

#renotahoe #food