Interview with Chef Q. Bennett

Cookbookwiki Interview with Chef Q. Bennett

 * Hello Chef Q. Bennett! How did you get started with cooking? - Alex

With my mom, growing up I had to learn how to cook, I had no sisters around it was just us boys… Chef Q. Bennett


 * Where have you cooked and where are you currently cooking?  - Alex

I've cooked in some pretty interesting places, from Coronado Island in San Diego, Ca, to Paramount and Universal Studios in LA, owning my own restaurant named Vineyard in Bakersfield, CA, to golf courses and Country Clubs, to one of the best restaurants on the river in Sacramento, Ca. … Not to mention the military. Now I'm Chef Q For Hire "your personal Chef services", personalizing in giving each and every guest what they want, how they want it and where they want it. We take the five star dinning experience from the restaurant to your home, backyard, office, yacht or your in laws. We also offer private or group culinary classes, etiquette classes, intimate dinners, birthdays, anniversaries, wedding receptions, office parties or Bar Mitzvahs. Chef Q. Bennett


 * What kind of training did you go through?  - Alex

Military and life, what awesome teachers! I've studied under some of the best Chefs on this side of the Mississippi. Their knowledge along with my experience (what mom taught) have got me to where I am today. So, I can't say that I'm self-taught; there was a lot of help in making me. I've read and still read tons of books, but I think most of all, it's a gift from God. Chef Q. Bennett


 * How difficult is it to become a personal chef?  - Alex

Not difficult at all, if you love it. I think the challenge in anything starts when we: a.) Don't do what was purposed for us to do b.) When we do something that we need a vacation from. That's when I feel you start looking forward to the two weeks a year vacation and stop loving the work. I could cook and have cooked every day without a VACATION, because I love what I do. Chef Q. Bennett


 * Is there anything that you regret regarding this career?  - Alex

I have no regrets about my career, just about the progress in the culinary industry. I'm glad it's finally getting the approbation that was due probably years ago. For that, I say, " Thanks to the Food TV Network and the various website, magazines and all the professional chefs that take pride in their work". Chef Q. Bennett


 * Tell us a funny thing that happened to you while on the job.  - Alex

Wow, there's quite a few; but one that sticks out is when I owned my own restaurant, "The Vineyard". I would have students of the culinary field come in to intern with me and with every aspiring chef I would sit down and talk with them about their career. You know, what they wanted from the field, where they saw themselves in a few years etc… One day I asked this one student to go get me a bucket of steam. Well after an hour or so, I noticed that the intern was still missing. I thought that was a long bathroom break- when finally the student returned out of breath and said to me "Chef I've went to every store in a ten mile radius but no one seems to have anything called a bucket of steam", We laughed for another thirty minutes before we broke it to them, no one would have a bucket of steam-steam evaporates in the air! I praised the student's determination to not stop until they found the item. Chef Q. Bennett


 * You cook all day - so what's your favorite dish?  - Alex

I like good food, whether a good hamburger, pizza, filet mignon or lobster thermidor. Chef Q. Bennett


 * What do you like to do when not cooking?  - Alex

I'm a typical sports buff, I love to play and watch; love spending time with family and love to entertain (but that would evolve into cooking). Chef Q. Bennett


 *  What's the most memorable thing someone said about your cooking?  - Alex

I have many people that I admire who've said positive things about my cooking. My wife and kids are my biggest fans but from all the celebrities that I've had the opportunity to cook for, Dr. Myles Munroe, an international motivational speaker, best-selling author, lecturer, educator, business consultant and Pastor said to me, "You've created an enjoyable experience to something so common." Chef Q. Bennett


 * What advice would you give someone interested in becoming a chef?  - Alex

Do your homework, before you spend thousands of dollars to enroll in a Culinary Academy. Go to a local restaurant and work in the kitchen for a year or so, then you'll be educated enough to if this is for me. It's not all fancy plates and your face on TV, there's a lot of hard work in this field, long hours and stressful environments. That's why you must love what you do, and then it will not become another dreadful place that takes up your time but a place to go to have fun. Oh and one more thing "Never stop learning" and "Never Submit to Failure". Chef Q. Bennett


 * Do you have your own recipes, if so would you be willing to offer our readers one of your very own recipes? - Alex

Yes, Please see [Category:Chef Q. Bennett's Recipes|this link]. Chef Q. Bennett


 * Is there any additional information about your projects or yourself you would like readers to know? - Alex

Please visit the web site www.chefqforhire.com to stay in touch or for more recipes or to even email your questions or food thoughts…Thanks again for allowing Chef Q For Hire to be your personal chef. Chef Q. Bennett