Chef Anthony Kosova is our new Executive Chef at Amazing Edibles, and we are really excited to have him on our team! We had a really fun time asking him a few questions about what it’s like to be a chef, working at Amazing Edibles and some of his preferences. Here’s how it went:

1.      According to you, what is the best thing about being a chef?

The best thing about being a chef is using your imagination and everything that is around you. Inspiration can come from anywhere such as a farmer’s market by looking at the fresh vegetables, spices, or products that are unfamiliar to you. I believe imagination is the key.

2.      What inspired you to become a chef?

That goes back to cooking with my grandparents. I grew up in an Italian household, so I learned how to make fresh pasta from scratch at a very young age of 4/5 years old. Then I went to engineering school, but afterwards I realized that I really wanted to go to a cooking school and so, I decided to go to Kendall College. Since then, I have always had the passion for cooking.

3.      How has your experience been so far working at Amazing Edibles?

Very good! Everybody has a high level of energy and inspiration. They are all willing to go the extra mile, which is really important which shows their passion for food. During the first menu meeting that I was a part of, I saw that everyone was really excited about the proposition of new items and new ideas. It is really nice to have a good culture at work.

4.      So following up on what you said about menu meetings, do you like developing dishes for the menu on your own or do you prefer involving the entire kitchen team?

I prefer a little bit of both. I like creating or testing new dishes or working with new flavors that I am unfamiliar with at home, as well as bringing in elements from other people. I believe as a chef, you learn different things from different people. There was a gentleman that I worked with who was from the south of Alabama and I learned how to make the best biscuits from him.

5.      Which cuisine do you prefer the most?

That changes from time to time. I had a soft spot for Italian food growing up, but then I went to culinary school and learned French techniques which I loved. Later, I lived in Seattle so I started loving Japanese and Korean cuisines. Paella is my favorite thing to cook, but my favorite thing to eat is either pork vindaloo or traditional mole.

6.      What is the one ingredient that you cannot live without?

Definitely garlic!

7.      Who is your culinary role model?

I would have to say Julia Child because she wasn’t pretentious about what she did and she also explained everything in a way that was really easy to understand. Cooking can be very daunting to a lot of people so if you can make people comfortable with it, they are more inclined to cook at home instead of eating out.

8.      Is there a recent food trend that you would like to try here at Amazing Edibles?

There are different food trends if we compare Seattle and Chicago. In Seattle, a big food trend is a “build your own food” concept. So I want to introduce something similar like a “build your own oatmeal/taco bar”. People really like that as well because they get to choose how they create their own meals. I want to try to incorporate this idea into the different events that we cater for.