Chef Colleen Johnson

I only truly wanted to be a chef. The problem was it was 1967 and women were not chefs in restaurant kitchens. Women cooked at home, sort of like “Leave It to Beaver’s” mom, June Cleaver. That was not an option for me, so I went to University and got a degree in English Literature, with an emphasis on art. I applied to the college for a Teaching Credential and entered that program, took all of the classes, began student teaching and then walked away. I was not interested in sitting in lunchrooms and listening to the massive amounts of gossip in the teacher’s lounge, nor did I care for the pile of red tape that I had to work through, every single year.

I was born to travel. I began this addiction at the ripe age of seven, when my mother bought me a subscription to The National Geographic magazine. I believe she regretted that from the day I said, “I want to go there!” Fresh out of high school, I took off to Europe and kept going back. I traveled the United States and Asia but, I am jumping around too much, so I will return to that in a second.

I took a variety of jobs beginning with working with the probation department and kids who had one last chance, before they ended up in some detention center until they were eighteen. I worked with them on passing their GED’s. I loved this job. Unfortunately, it was short lived (due to cut-backs). So, I took off to Europe, again, the one thing that I found that absolutely intrigued me, was the food; fresh, fabulous, lovely food. I wrote about, I sketched it, and, of course, I ate plenty of it! I would always go into the restaurant kitchen to see what they were doing. Sometimes that was fine, with the kitchen staff and sometimes, not so much. Little did I know that this is where I wanted to be for the rest of my life, working the line and creating tempting dishes. But, the timing was not right, yet.

So, I found a position in Osaka, Japan, teaching English at Nichibei Aigo Gakkuin. I spent close to two years there, loving every second of the day. I discovered Tsuji Cooking School. I saved up some money and took some classes, what an unbelievable challenge that was! I was so enamored with the cuisine, so simple, but yet, so very difficult.

When I got back from Japan, I took a job with the program, Upward Bound, at California State University, Long Beach. I was the Educational Coordinator and during the summers, I taught English. Good stuff, great students, but something was missing in my life. So, I went back to Europe and started working in kitchens. I will just say, what a challenge. No one wanted a woman in the kitchen, so my work was made almost impossible, but I endured. I went to Lyon, to learn to make croissants, with the master, Bernachon. I spent time in the kitchen of Bocuse and then worked in a variety of small places, learning and becoming a disciplined cook.

I came back home and wanted to work in kitchens, but the pay was so horrible, that I took substitute-teaching positions, in order to make rent. I got a job, at a small café, in Long Beach. The owner had no clue what she was doing, so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get my feet wet. I made two soups a day, croissants, sandwiches and one or two desserts. It started off slowly, and then picked up to the point where I had to hire a couple of other cooks. People lined up around the corner for the pastries and the soup. It was a good beginning.

I then took a job at a catering house, in Orange County, just to see if I could do the job. This place was total insanity. The parties, the ordering, the hiring of staff, I had no life, but I loved it, but, I wanted something more, I wanted the big time. I needed to move on and move up.

Los Angeles was the beginning for me. I took a job with Peter Roelant, a Swiss chef with a huge background, huge ego and a list of people that he had worked for during his “coming of age,” in the industry. Peter introduced me to Max Khell and Freddy Giardet, two of the biggest names in the culinary world, at that time. I had an opportunity to work with them and a few others, I was in heaven. I completely thank Peter for these and many more opportunities. I also started to do some food styling and had the chance to work with Brian Leatart , a fabulous photographer of Bon Appetite magazine fame. Along with all of that I took a part-time job working for James Garner, as his private cook. It was all so easy for me, because this is where I belonged.

I had this thing about wanting to work with the best chefs. It is sort of like playing tennis, when you position yourself to play against someone a whole lot better than you, you become a better player. The culinary world is the same. So, I positioned myself to apply for a job with Thomas Keller. Today, he is considered the best American chef and one of the world’s top culinary masters. After four interviews and six hundred dollars in parking tickets, I got the job. I prevailed and Keller was not sorry that he hired me. I became his Executive Pastry Chef and after his leaving, I worked catering jobs with him. Keller once told me that the day that I feel that I have learned everything in the industry, is the day I have to quit. After all of this time, I am still learning.

Since then, I have worked as a Pastry Chef, and Executive Chef, owned a bakery, worked as a restaurant consultant, caterer, private chef and a Chef Instructor, at The Art Institute, Orange County and at CulinaryLab School in Tustin.

I still travel; I now own a small place in Tuscany and on my time off, give food and wine tours.

I have had a full life in this industry and have a whole book-full of knowledge to pass on to students, who take my classes. I love what I do and I do it well.

Just to add, I had the pleasure of designing and presenting His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, with a birthday cake at The Honda Center on July 5, 2015.

(google: Colleen Johnson Dalai Lama).