Derek Chance - Personal Chef Services

Derek Chance dachance66@yahoo.com    530-906-6629

At the age of 14, I began looking for work. I was hired as a dishwasher in a greasy steakhouse. After working my way up the ladder to lead cook, I decided that this was not a bad way to make a living. I was never cold and I would not go hungry, so I pursued other jobs in nicer restaurants. Finally, finding a restaurant in Southfield, Michigan called the "Golden Mushroom".

Over the years, it has received some of the highest ratings in the country for fine cuisine. It was there that I learned my foundation of fine classic French cuisine, taught by the most notable of Chefs, "Milos Cihelka". He was the very first "Certified Master Chef" in the U.S. That's right -- in metro Detroit -- not in San Francisco, not New York, not LA, but DETROIT!! Noted more for turning out elite hockey players and fast cars than elite restaurants. Chef Milos is still the highest scoring of all CMC s and he is the only American chef to receive more than one culinary European Gold Medal (3)

After pursuing additional apprenticeships in Detroit and Chicago, I decided to head West, landing in California's beautiful Lake Tahoe area. After a decade of working in Tahoe's finer establishments, I headed North and worked in Alaska at fine fishing lodges. Then I went South to Texas, where I worked at fine deer hunting lodges. As a Chef, it is a pleasure working with such bounty of the freshest seafood and wild game anywhere. A lot of the entrees are still moving just minutes before dinner is served!!
In more recent years, I have been working in the private sector. Teaching cooking lessons and providing personal chef services to distinguished folks who demand quality, freshness and top notch dinner service.