Meet Our Chefs At Marcel’s Culinary Experience, our kitchen is your kitchen. Assembled from a variety of different backgrounds, yet bound by a common thread, the professional chefs and chef educators are the foundation of the culinary program at Marcel’s. Marcel’s culinary team will ensure that each and every guest has a place to learn, watch, and meet new people and old friends – a place to pull up a chair, gather around the table and discover fabulous food adventures. A place to cook, create, and celebrate. Kelly Sears, Executive Chef Rachel Cuzzone Kiley Fields Brandy Fernow Katie Heath Paul Lindemuth Robin Nathan Heather Ude Kelly SearsMarcel’s Executive ChefInstructor Dry mix, water, and a light bulb. Kelly began cooking under 40 watts of power with the Easy Bake Oven; her poor parents ate more than their share of “delicacies” baked under a light bulb. Moving beyond the light bulb, she graduated from the College of DuPage culinary program and continued her education. In the kitchen, Kelly’s goal is to provide an environment in which students can experiment, create, learn culinary techniques, share recipes, and express their own talents. Her philosophy concentrates on creating an important balance between the foods that we put on the table and the people that gather around the table. Favorite food memory:My father was the youngest of twelve. By the time I came along, I was the 35th grandchild. One family meal, there were what felt like forty people surrounding my grandparents’ dining table. Money was scarce and so was the food — grabbing to fill your plate was considered a necessity, not bad manners. I was 3 or 4 at the time and my grandmother was a woman of few words and a giver of even fewer “warm fuzzies”. As I sat there watching the food disappear my grandmother put a bowl of homemade warm buttered spaetzel noodles in front of me. My own bowl! It was at that moment I knew that sometimes food can say things that some people just can’t. 3 Items always in Kelly’s refrigerator:Sriracha, half and half, spicy mustard View Classes Presented by Kelly SearsBack to top Rachel CuzzoneChef Instructor Rachel started in the industry 13 years ago as a dishwasher for a cake decorator. She continued to work alongside her mentor into culinary school. During those years she took on many different jobs, which ultimately led her to run the kitchen and teach full time at Sur La Table. She has had the opportunity to compete in a chocolate competition, as well as assist for the Coupe du Monde Pastry Team USA. Currently, she now runs her own pastry business called Madeleine and the Traveling Bakeshop, in addition to teaching. She loves showing people how easy it can be to cook. But she also loves to hear everyone’s stories, and how food places such an important role in it. Three items always in your grocery cart are…Butter, heavy cream, and eggs. My friends and family make fun of me – but you never know when you need to whip a batch of cookies or lava cakes!. Favorite Food Memory:This changes a lot for me – and a lot hit when I vacation. But recently, it was this past Thanksgiving. My husband and I moved into a house in September 2019 and hosted that first Thanksgiving. There were over 20 people sitting at one long 18’ table. I love gathering people around the table. View Classes Presented by Rachel CuzzoneBack to top Kiley FieldsChef Instructor Kiley attended culinary school at the Illinois Institute of Art with the plans of using her degree, along with her 15 years of marketing and advertising experience to go into restaurant consulting. Funny how that all worked out. After spending time in the kitchen she quickly realized it was a much more fun place to be, and where she wanted to stay. Kiley has been teaching and doing private chef work ever since. There is always an unexpected ingredient to use, an old school technique still to be mastered, or a culture with a deep connection to food to learn more about. And…once she learns it…she can’t help but want to share it with others. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?I would have to couple this question with another…what is the strangest thing you have ever made? I have a family friend who would always share stories with me about making tamales with her mom or her dad’s carne asada over the camp fire. During one of our conversations she mentioned a dish that piqued my interest – tacos de cabeza. Let me translate…cow’s head tacos. It was an “in the kitchen moment” I don’t think I will ever be able to duplicate. Imagine the size of a cow’s head…it requires a pot for the sole purpose of preparing tacos de cabeza. The flavor was rich and gamey and a bit more complex than you would expect. Would I make it again…yes, but I would have to borrow her pot. What’s the most underrated cooking ingredient?Lemon and it’s zest, if a dish is “flat”…it often does the trick. View Classes Presented by Kiley FieldsBack to top Brandy FernowChef Instructor A gift of cooking lessons from her husband prompted Brandy to leave her career as a consultant for Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young to train at Kendall College where she earned her culinary degree. Brandy has a passion for teaching cooking classes and lessons, having taught at Parties That Cook, Sur La Table, Flavour Cooking School, and her alma mater, Kendall College, where she developed the curriculum for and led their recreational cooking school program. She enjoys the connection made around food and the energy from the excitement of guests as they create and enjoy food together. What music do you listen to when you cook?My parents had 1000’s of records and I grew up on the classics – thanks to Pandora, I enjoy Zeppelin, The Eagles and other greats while I cook! Brandy’s guilty pleasure food:Gummy ANYTHING! From Swedish Fish to Gummy Worms, I am a connoisseur of all things chewy and sugary. View Classes Presented by Brandy FernowBack to top Paul LindemuthChef Instructor Paul found his love of the kitchen at an early age, cooking alongside his mother and grandmother. While primarily self-taught, Paul spent time in the kitchen with noted chefs Giuliano Bugialli, Jacques Pepin, and Perla Meyers, and now has over 30 years of culinary experience. After managing the cooking schools and retail stores for The Cook’s Mart and The Chef’s Catalog in Chicago, Paul founded his own culinary business, The Art of Food, in 1986. He currently divides his time between sharing his passion for cooking and teaching at Marcel’s, leading the Maison in home private chef business (a Marcel’s business), and working as a personal chef/event planner in client’s homes throughout the Chicagoland area. Paul focuses his approach to cooking and teaching around three elements: selection of top quality ingredients, techniques of preparation, and beautiful presentation. Each class features recipes that explore and build upon these elements. Favorite food memory:Standing alongside my grandmother as she made me a fried egg sandwich every day for lunch during elementary school. To this day, the aroma of melting butter brings that memory to life. 3 items always in Paul’s grocery cart:Wine, garlic, and butter View Classes Presented by Paul LindemuthBack to top Robin NathanChef Instructor California girl Robin Nathan attended culinary school after a successful 20-year career as a national advertising executive and she understands busy working families who enjoy cooking but don’t have all day to spend at it. Her cuisine is all about simple, seasonally appropriate preparations, global flavors, and a naturally light touch. She loves nothing better than to twist up what she’s learned, combining the authentic with the new and different. Life should be a taste adventure! Three items always in Robin’s grocery cart:Organic milk, baby arugula and tomatoes Best food memory?I have so many…. The first time I tasted good olive oil, back in the early ‘80s, the first time I tasted the sour-salty-sweet of Thai food, the row of avocados my grandmother always kept ripening on her window-sill, from the tree in her yard…. View Classes Presented by Robin NathanBack to top Heather UdeChef Instructor As I grew up with amzing women and wonderful cooking, I knew I wanted to pursue the culinary field as a profession. I attended and graduated the Elgin Community College Culinary Program. I then went on to get my Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management and Event Planning from Roosevelt University. I spent 10 years at home raising my three kids, engaged in cooking and baking. One of my favorite things to bake are pies, and currently have a small pie business. I also enjoy working with and teaching kids. I can’t get enough of their enthusiasm when it comes to cooking! I have a passion for teaching people of all ages the fundamentals and importance of cooking. I love the excitement that comes from learning new cooking skills and creating new food experiences. What’s your favorite spice? My favorite spice would have to be cinnamon. The warm and cozy feeling I get from the simple, yet complex, aroma is so inspiring. Although there are so many possibilities with the use of cinnamon, my favorite are the simple recipes like apple pie with cinnamon whipped cream. What is your guilty food pleasure?My guilty pleasure food is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! I try to incorporate chocolate in my cooking whenenver possible.I love anything sweet, but chocolate (especially chocolate cake} always makes me smile. View Classes Presented by Heather UdeBack to top Katie HeathChef Instructor Katie Heath’s interest in the kitchen began at a young age when she would make pretend cooking shows in her kitchen and make her mother video tape them! After majoring in Communications and Spanish at Wheaton College and being part of Wheaton’s soccer team as they won two Division III National Championships, she attended Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta briefly before deciding to switch gears and work in the business world for ten years at a private investment firm in the suburbs of Chicago. While working in the business world, cooking always served Katie as her creative outlet and a means to express love to her family and friends. Now as a mom of three, Katie has found her way back to the kitchen-again! Her passion for making cooking fun and educating children in food has made becoming a chef at Marcel’s a welcoming home for Chef Katie. Katie Heath is also the author of “Maya Monkey Makes Eggs,” a rhyming children’s book about making the perfect batch of scrambled eggs. If I weren’t a chef, I would be… A pro-golfer’s wife. I would love to travel to all the Major golf tournaments and run out to say congrats on the tournament winning putt. Since this seems a little out of reach at this point, I would say a writer. Latest food discovery?Marcel’s uses Vanilla Bean Paste in their baking, and now I have fully converted from vanilla extract. It packs so much flavor into any dessert. View Classes Presented by Katie HeathBack to top