Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Clarke-Helm.
Hi Gina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The journey to chef was well-traveled and the experiences along the way are what inspired me to jump into the field of cooking. My love for food started when I was a young child roaming the farmer’s markets in my hometown on the central coast of California, San Luis Obispo. We shopped weekly at farmer’s markets gathering the best farm to table produce and cooking home-inspired meals, which always resonated with me into my later years. I left home at 16 years old to start a model career which span over 20 years and I was fortunate to grace the covers of Cosmopolitan, Shape, various other publications, and commercial ad campaigns. Additionally, for 11 years, I was the Muse to the famed sculptor Robert Graham. We collaborated on some incredible art and built a lasting legacy together. It’s through my travels around the world that I was inspired to seek out a second career in the food industry. I just loved everything that food inspired in me, the colors, textures, taste, smell and presentation satisfied all my senses. I started taking cooking classes in Florence Italy under famed Chef Giuliano Bugialli and later attend the French Epicurean school in Los Angeles, which lead me to Wolfgang Puck’s famed eater Granita in Malibu, California. I worked at Granita for a year and then decided that I wanted to own and operate my own private chef business where I could offer the clients a custom 5-star service. I saw the demand was high for private, upscale dining and events, and thus I wanted to seek out that opportunity. I just love everything about creating my own menus, sourcing the finest ingredients, and dealing directly with the clients to give them a best-in-class dining experience. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have some amazing clients from top celebrities, musicians, artists, corporations and local families. I look forward to giving every client personalized attention and a dining experience that is memorable. This is what separates my business from others.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been 18 years since I first started envisioning a career in the food industry and there certainly been ups and down along the way. Creating a business from the ground up and establishing yourself within an industry is very difficult and doesn’t happen overnight. Some of the biggest initial challenges are creating a business model that works, gathering resources, funding, advertising, websites and making a footprint within an established industry. Other challenges that I’ve faced are being taken seriously a women chef and not just someone who makes food. As women in any industry, we simply want equality and for our skills, knowledge and ability to be the source of success. Some obstacles and challenges that I currently face is understanding how to grow the business in an organic manner that allows me to maintain control and quality at highest level so that each and every client gets 5-star service and attention. As the business becomes more popular and in demand, I can only be in so many places at once and give the clients 100 percent of myself.
Other challenges are staying current with the latest trends, demands and services which the clients expect. That’s why I am always seeking out new food, preparation, techniques, and sampling ingredients from different sources. As a Chef, you are constantly learning and growing in order to maintain your skills, stay innovative and creative. The truth is you can learn new things from everyone who cooks, whether it’s a professional chef to someone who is self-taught. The key is to keep an open mind and allow yourself to grow as things change in the industry.
As you know, we’re big fans of Malibu Seaside Chef. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Malibu Seaside Chef is a high-end private chef and catering company that provides custom 5-star individualized service. We do dinner parties, small events, corporate dining and weddings. When you seek out our services, we work with the client every step of the process from creating custom menus, tablescapes, ordering proper rentals and anything they need to produce an incredible and memorable event.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
So much matter when it comes to the making an event perfect for the client. For me, “It’s giving the client exactly what they desire and envision for an event.” It’s using the best ingredients, sourcing the freshest meats, and producing amazing meals that look beautiful and taste even better. I also understand the importance of a meal beyond the food but as an experience.
For me, It’s important for the client to have a lasting memorable experience that they can use to judge other dining experiences. It’s me shaking up what they originally thought fine dining should be and now giving them a new expectation of what personalized high-end dining should look like.
Finally, it matters to me that the clients feels taken care of from start to finish and that they have a new understanding of what individualized service looks like and how top-notch food should taste.
Contact Info:
- Website: malibuseasidechef.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malibuseasidechef/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gina.clarke
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/malibu-seaside-chef-malibu?osq=malibu+seaside+chef
Image Credits:
Personal Photo Jennifer Olsen Photography Addition Photos: #1 in orange sweater: Jennifer Olson Photography #2 Black chef coat holding veggies: Jennifer Olsen Photography #3 Chicken in Waffles: Shannon McMillen Photography #4 Crap Sliders: Shannon McMillen Photography #5 Spring Rolls: Jennifer Olson Photography #6 Soup: Jennifer Olson Photography #7 Mexican Street Corn: John Troxell Photography #8 Grill Chicken: John troxell Photography #9 White Chefs Coast: Julie Wuellner #10 Cast Iron Skillet with acorn squash: Jennifer Olson Photography
