Chef Alex Reyes regaled the Arcadia Rotarians about the pure adrenalin rush of being the head chef.  With over 25 years of experience, Alex has worked in many fine establishments, including Mi Piace in Pasadena and the Ritz Carlton. Alex received his Bachelors degree from the famous California Polytechnic School in Pomona, CA before moving on to teach at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles.

Alex described a vivid memory of being head Chef for an event with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, where one of the waitress told the kitchen that Mayor wanted his steak well done.  Turns out the waitress was guessing and the Mayor actually wanted his Filet’ Medium Rare.  This resulted in a new steak order and a whole bunch of the guests sending back their steaks for reheating… a huge fiasco for the kitchen.  Alex demanded that the waitress(s) responsible for this be fired on the spot, or he was quitting.  The waitresses were fired and when Alex was leaving for the night the 3 were out on the curb bemoaning their unemployed status.  Alex consoled them, later marrying one of them.

Alex now heads the Sauté Culinary Academy in Monrovia, a new bigger location.  The academy offers a variety of classes including Kids Classes, Recreational Classes, Team Building Events and Semi-Professional Cooking Classes. The classes are 3 hours long and participants get a short lecture, 2 hours of hands on cooking followed by eating.  Check it out at  www.sauteacademy.com

One of his popular teaching methods is to pick a country and then help his students learn to prepare cuzine popular in that country.  Alex having lived in Mexico, Iran, Columbia and Louisiana gives him a unique skill set.  Alex reinforces that it is not so much the recipes but the preparation and cooking techniques that are important to cooking fine food.

An important skill for everyone who wants to learn to cook is knife skills.  The “Knife Skills Class” teaches knife handling and the 6 important food cutting techniques.  Alex noted that he is seeing a trend away from traditional fine dining to trendy pubs serving beer and good food in  a more casual setting.  There were questions on unusual foods, oils and methods.  Alex reminded us all that personal traits like working hard, being on-time and showing a sense of urgency are very important in the culinary industry.

Dave McMonigle has set us Rotarians up for a 3 hour cooking class on Saturday May 7; we are in for a lot of fun, skill development and eating.