Open Your Mind to the Culinary World! But first, let me introduce myself…. It was awesome! I dove in head first! Best Wishes,
Chef Angel
Come with me on a journey that will leave you enjoying cooking as well as opening your mind to the culinary world around you. My name is Angel Marchman but now that we are foodie friends, you can call me Chef Angel. I traveled a lot when I was young (military family) and believe that contributed to my love of food. I was lucky enough to have a mother that let me have free range of her kitchen to c
reate my own style of “mad science”; I started experimenting with food at the age of eight. I can still remember serving mycreation of cinnamon sugar scrambled eggs (yes, really!) to my mother for breakfast one morning. She put on a brave face and told me she was impressed at my creativity but I am almost sure she didn’t actually eat those eggs. We finally settled in Virginia at the start of my fifth grade year and I went on to cater my first event at the age of fifteen. Shortly after high school, I relocated to Maryland and for sixteen years worked as a restaurant manager, kitchen manager, Sou Chef and Chef. During this time, I gave birth to my son but I missed out on a lot of things when he was young due to the long hours of working in restaurants. I wanted the best of both worlds; to stay at home more with my son and stay in the culinary world too. Then I came across an article in the newspaper about becoming a Personal Chef (not to be confused with a Private Chef). Graduating from the Culinary Business Academy in 2007, I finally became owner of my own personal chef business. Interestingly enough, most of my clients wanted to learn how to cook using their own kitchens more than having me cook for them. So I began teaching private cooking lessons and enjoyed it immensely. I taught after school programs at my son’s elementary school and was the instructor for Operation Frontline (now called the Cooking Matters “No Kid Goes Hungry”) program in my community teaching families how to create low cost healthy meals. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the pickiest of children eat eggplant and love it! Now that I am back in Virginia, focusing on spending more time with my son and having way more time on my hands than ever before, decided to pull upon my culinary experiences and create the “Cooking Up Life “website. Experimentation is the foundation of becoming a better cook. Don’t become dependent on all those recipes you see in the magazines, foodie websites or even the best cookbooks. Thinking outside the box will help you perfect your palate as well as save money while creating some amazing dishes. Now, let’s get started on helping you to create your own culinary journey!