behindthescenes

Who would have been able to foresee a little girl from Pittsburgh -
who was dubbed "Pearl Mesta" by her first grade nuns at school -
would end up seeing the world through it's bountiful culinary
offerings and fulfill a destiny of hospitality? As a young teen, Chef
Brenda's first jobs were in the food industry - an ice cream parlour, a
seafood house (her parents made her change her "food scented"
clothes outside as they provoked olfactory misdemeanors of all-you-
can-eat fried clams...). She then went on to work in the marketing
department at the headquarters of a successful national chain of
hamburgers (if one doesn't walk away with a great deal of knowledge
from that, one wasn't paying attention...). All the while, she delved
into hosting "theme" dinners in her home after work for fun and
entertainment. Invitations were sought after but not merely for her
company. Her food was the draw. She spent a few years acquiring
skills in the world of modeling, restaurants, clubs, computer
recording media manufacturing, and even spent time in the legal
assistant arena. Not certain as to how those experiences would
guide or even enhance her career, she persevered. She felt a pull
from her naturally rooted culinary talents and held fast to the appeal
of her ever popular theme dinners. On her birthday in a
twenty-something year, a few friends got together to present her with
a 'cooking class' gift certificate at an acclaimed culinary school in
San Francisco. She was so enthusiastic about it that she arrived one
week early to attend! After getting the date right and upon
completion of the class, she was overwhelmed with the feeling of
KNOWING she had stumbled across the gates of her own
gastronomic destiny. She promptly and without hesitation, enrolled
in the culinary school as a full time student. The rest is history: she
worked part-time in restaurants to support herself through school,
she graduated with honors and won several student awards of
achievement, she received invitations by the school to speak to
incoming students on orientation days and assisted the chef
instructors in classes, she lived abroad in lengthy work/study
situations (in an actual castle I might add), she honed her skills at
four and five star hotel properties, she designed and owned her own
Caribbean restaurant, she worked privately for some of the world's
largest celebrities and now after (let's say for vanity's sake) some
twenty to twenty five years later, she brings you The Secret
Ingredient - World Cuisine on Demand. If you haven't had the
opportunity to experience Chef Brenda's culinary arena, merely ask
someone who has and you will come to understand her culinary skill.
On the other hand, once you've experienced it, you will come to
understand her true culinary passion and gift. Ready to get her
started on your event?