So firstly, let me officially introduce myself… my name is Erin (Fletcher) Tripp, Karen’s sister-in-law, married to her brother for 30 years now and living in their family home here in Costa Mesa – in So.Cal.   I came here from New Zealand in my early 20’s on my way to travel and explore the world, and it was while I was traveling around the USA, that I made a connection with my now hubby, KT’s middle brother, and the rest is history, as they say!  We lived in the Midwest for a few summers, Indianapolis to be exact – heart of auto-racing, and from Indy we would be traveling from race track-to-race track throughout the Midwest.  And for me, coming from way ‘down-under’, was some of the best times, out trekking around the highways and byways of America.  Stopping at Ma-n-Pa style diners, trucks stops and many a drive-thru along the way, learning the art of dining on the road was so new to this Kiwi that ate the majority of her meals at home.  Actually funny enough, the food wasn’t my biggest pull here, just being away from NZ, exploring this vast country was indeed a ‘trip’ for me!

Eventually after being all over the Midwest, West Coast and ‘Down-under’ racing, along the way we got married, settled in Costa Mesa, had our daughter.  I then returned to College in my 40’s with the love of Culinary Arts and hearing of a great program at our local junior college – Orange Coast College, I tip-toed my way back into school, but like quick sand – the love of education at this age was in my favour and I absorbed it at a great rate, sucking up all that there was to learn like a dry sponge, scoring well in my classes, putting myself on the Honor roll, and even receiving scholarship $$$!  I loved this program, this school, the staff, to the point, I think I have taken every available class there was to offer – even Ice Carving!  (and that is another story, for another time).  So I ended up graduating in Spring 2005, with my parents in from NZ and what better place to take them and myself after, but to the South, to New Orleans and Mississippi, where we experienced the wonderful hospitality and culinary delights there,even arriving in Gulfport/Biloxi area the day after Hurricane Arlene!  And after graduating, my world hasn’t looked back, and has only got better and better within this business of FOOD – love it or hate it… it surrounds our lives from the time we wake up till the time we got to bed… we all have to eat.

Now Karen is the ‘sweet tooth’ of the family, but don’t get me wrong, I love a piece of Pavlova like the next person does, but baking isn’t my first love, cooking is.  I like cooking because it is forgiving – a little bit more of this, a splash of that – I am just not too good with accurate measurements – which is the golden rule of baking!  Take our baking final, we were all given the same recipe – pound cake – same equipment, same scales, same ingredients for all the students, and even though most turned out similar, there was mine – a lot higher than the majority – and when she saw it, she said: ‘it probably has a air bubble in there’, then she cut it, and there was no air bubble, so she asked me: ‘so what did you do different?’ – I did just what my mother used to do… instead of dropping the eggs in one at a time, I whisked them together till they were light and fluffy, and folded them in… made for a light mixture – and that impressed the teacher!  See you can teach an old dog new tricks – hey, I love learning new tricks, and let me tell you, there are plenty of things to learn in this field, along with the never ending tastes and trends that come along.  Like the Natural Foods show I attended recently here in Anaheim last week.  Last year trends were – Coconut water and Kale… this year was – Chia seeds – yes seriously, Cha-cha-cha-chia – as in the Chia Pets – only now we are eating them instead of slapping them on our ceramic figurines – always around during the holidays for gifts.  I think I had the Lamb a zillion years ago.  But hey, I am kind of getting off the subject line… baking vs cooking – I think you can do one better than the other, and there are some that can do both… I really don’t like baking, even though I do a fairly good job of, but I stick with the savouries – yum!  Give me a big scoop of Shepherd’s Pie or pile of Fish-n-Chips – anytime!  Some old home favourites – and yes, I write with a ‘u’ in there, because I grew up doing that ‘down-under’ – colour, flavour, neighbour… it’s hard to drop it, only Spellcheck reminds me that is not correct (here)! 

So after I graduated in the late Spring of 2005 – I began to get work with a number of local catering companies in and around the O.C. – many of those events were in and around the Newport-Mesa area that we live in and that area being along the beautiful Southern Californian coastline… with some spectacular views from many a kitchen I have worked in.  Yes, I have leaned more on the Personal chef work – no, not private, but personal.  What’s the difference you ask?  Private Chefs work exclusively for one family, sometimes live-in, but they are there for every meal provide to the family.  Personal Chefs get a little more variety and freedom, which I love – dinner parties and preparing meals for 2-3-4 or however many days they may require, and then that client is left with reheating instructions.  I have number of clients in this area now, but let me tell you, this way is not steady work –  Private is the way to go if you need a reliable income and even a place to stay.

So yes, from time-to-time I will be popping in here to tell you about some of my events this coming year – and maybe even some from the past – could be cooking a dinner for two, or up to 202.  Soon I will be tell you about therecent Grand Opening of the newest Bvlgari store on Rodeo Drive – quite the night wining and dining the stars prior to Oscar – and worked only feet from Elizabeth Taylor’s extensive jewelry collection!  So come on back and check-in from time-to-time for the savoury side of the kitchen… cooking with love – Chef ET  J