My name is Rachel and I am the owner and chef of the YesChefKitchen. I guess that makes me the Yes Chef!
My experience with food over the years has been much different than most would expect from someone who is a passionate home baker and chef.
I was quite a picky eater as a kid (despite stories from my dad about him feeding me squid as a baby). I grew up on mostly Chicken Nuggets and boxed Macaroni & Cheese. My little brother, Brennan, and I weren't huge fans of vegetables in our early years. Frozen green beans were one of the only greens we would agree to eat until our Dad worked to expand our diets to include sautéed spinach and Broccoli covered with "Butter Buds" (essentially butter flavoring made from corn). Our tastes have since broadened with the dedication of Dad and Mom, and now Brennan makes one of the meanest steaks that I've ever had.
Unlike almost all passionate foodies I know, I don't have hundreds of family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. I have a few; mostly Christmas cookie recipes (and they are oh-so treasured!)
What this meant for me was that I have had to go out of my way to experience home cooking. I didn't know how to experiment with seasonings or how to balance acidic flavors with fat. I didn't feel comfortable working with ingredients that I'd never seen cooked or eaten in my own house. What I DID know was how to scientifically follow the instructions on a Kraft Mac & Cheese box, make Tollhouse Cookies based on the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips bag, and boil water to make ramen noodles or pasta with melted butter (which were all after-school snack favorites for Brennan and me).
Despite my inexperienced and under-developed palate, I had an excitement about cooking and sharing the treats that I'd made.
At just 10 and 8 years old, Brennan and I started "developing" restaurant menus on white printer paper we found in the junk drawer. We named our restaurant "R & B's" (Rachel and Brennan's, but also a play on "Rhythm & Blues" which we found extremely clever). Our top customers were Mom and Dad and Mommom and Poppop (our maternal grandparents), and we sourced the freshest ingredients from whatever was in the fridge or pantry at the time. We worked our hardest waiting "the table" and cooking in the kitchen for our family, and we would present the bill at the end of the night. 9 times out of 10 we were paid in hugs and kisses when we expected quarters (a highly desired form of currency for children in the early 2000s), but looking back, the real joy came from spending time with my brother and eliciting "oohs" and "ahhs" when we watched them take that first bite of their dinners. Even if the meal we served was something as simple as pasta with Ragù marinara sauce that we decorated with extra dried basil, the feeling of making people happy through food stuck with me more than anything else.
In the past 15 years, since moving on from my in-home restaurateur days, I spent years perfecting my own chocolate chip cookie recipe, began baking outside my comfort zone, and experimented profusely within culinary and pastry arts. I even picked up a knack for gardening.
I went to University at Penn State, where I studied Supply Chain and Information Systems, with minors in International Business and Spanish. I studied abroad and in Sevilla, Spain with a Spanish host family. I met the love of my life, Will, playing on the Penn State travel club tennis team, played on the Women's Rugby team as a Flanker, and picked up wheel thrown pottery. I've dined at Applebee's and Taco Bell (Fact: a crunch wrap supreme tastes much better at 2am), and thanks to Will, my now fiancé, I've dined in Relais & Châteaux and 3-Michelin star restaurants (including Eleven Madison Park the year it won Best restaurant in the World). I've been so blessed the past few years, and these experiences have only inspired me to learn and taste more...do more, and be more.
When Will graduated Penn State with an Aerospace Engineering degree (that's right, I'm marrying a Rocket Scientist), he realized that Aerospace was not what he wanted to pursue. So, he started his own Software, Graphic Design and Mobile App Development Start-Up, and has been running his own business ever since.
When I graduated, a year later, I got at job as a Manager at Amazon in Operations. I was promoted a few times, and it was obvious that I was great at my job, but it was also clear to me that I didn't have the same childish spark of passion for industry work that I had when I was running "R&B's".
I started baking again; making even more complex treats than ever. Pies, Tarts, Meringues, Cakes, Breads, Macarons. I would bring them in to work and watch an insurmountable amount of joy spread over the faces of my co-workers and team; all because of my treats. "You should open a bakery," people told me. I laughed. There's already so much competition, it's not feasible, it's too risky; all thoughts that I had.
Then, in April 2018, I went to China. (REALLY!) Something incredible happened to me in China- you can read about it HERE.
I returned from China more inspired than I had ever been. But, instead of opening a bakery, I took one step. In June of 2018, I started my food blog and instagram page (foodstagram, if you will), The_Yes_Chef.
It didn't take long after that for me to open up an Etsy Shop to start sharing my creations with the world, and I couldn't be happier that I did.
It is an absolute pleasure to be able to share my passion, send treats to peoples doors and teach others to make those same delicious treats and meals in their own homes with my recipes and video tutorials.
I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. I am so happy you found your way to this space, and I look forward to having you around! Let's connect over food!
-Rachel, The Yes Chef
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