Chef Matthew Konishi

I am a home cook who would love to share his love of food. Starting as a small child following his parents around the grocery store, through being the only student in his college dormitory to use the kitchen and into an adult who picks his apartments by the size of the counter, food has been my constant companion as well as a favorite way to relate to people, and a source of joy in dark times.

I moved to Denver in 2017 to work for CO Parks and Wildlife after an education and several years as a mental health specialist. I am a native North Carolinian with Japanese and Chinese heritage, and a diverse family including Italian, Greek, Ashkenazi Jewish and Israeli members. I feel all of these influences and places have played a hand in informing my food journey.

I have experience working in private homes and with a wide range of ages thanks to my time as a case manager and home companion. I know that working in someone's private space requires respect and sensitivity, and I will always strive to be as unobtrusive as possible while still leaving your kitchen cleaner than when I arrived.

Unlike some of the other profiles you might be sifting through at the moment, I come from a non-professional background. This has allowed me a freedom of exploration that a commercial kitchen career may not have afforded, as cooking for my family and friends for the past fifteen years granted me permission to dive into whatever cuisines struck my fancy. Trip to Argentina? Time for empanadas mendocinas. Someone went to the Caribbean? I'll learn to make gungo peas and fish curry. Binging "The Great British Bake Off"? Let's do entremets. I'm an extremely fast learner in the kitchen, and that's what keeps it fun for both me and those who get to enjoy my food!