Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Someofthedistinctivenessofherdishescomesfromthatadventurousspiritbutagreat
deal is a reflection of her heritage and of being raised in a nomadic military lifestyle. Her
parents met in Vietnam where her father was an officer in the U.S. Army. Desiree was born
in the Netherlands of American, Vietnamese and French descent. From the ages of five
through seventeen she lived in culinary Meccas such as New Orleans, Vietnam, and Paris
before resettling in the United States.
“That's a really good combination when it comes to food,” she says of her upbringing,
“I do a number of fusion flavors, using local ingredients. I grew up eating a lot of French
food, so the plating, the presentation becomes important. The portions are small but the
flavors are strong. We ate Vietnamese food at least twice a week so that's huge in my back-
ground.The Latin flavors came to me later in life and there are great flavors there too.” The
'Latin flavor' she mentions is the abundance of rich local ingredients she tries to employ,
like cinnamon, tamarind, ginger, macadamias and cardamom. “I love using those spices in
my food because they are tropical, local, and I don't think that they are used enough.”
It all started a number of years ago when Desiree and her husband, Juan, rented a pool
bar in a local hotel. “It was successful,” she says. “I started cooking for the public then,
trying to offer things that were a little different from the offerings at other places. I wanted
it to be special.” She put what were, at the time, novel dishes on the menu - things like
spring rolls — which became an instant hit. “People would order dozens of them. I made a
lot of Asian dishes, since that's part of my background. There wasn't much of that offered
here at that time.” When that season came to an end so did her days in the kitchen — for a
while.
As the market for private villas and vacation homes began to grow, Desiree noticed the
increased demand for private chefs. It was something that appealed to her, combining her
love for food and meeting new and interesting people.
“I started really slowly, doing it part time,” she says. It grew organically as word
spread. “I developed more and more contacts, I got more recipes in my repertoire, and
thanks to the internet — it's a great way of learning new things, new recipes - and that
allowed me to cook as a personal chef in the villas.” She began as a one-person operation
where she would do everything from the planning and grocery shopping to the clean-up.
She remembers having her favorite taxi driver ferrying her about the town, even helping
carry groceries during those early years. Now, she has her own car and staff. “There's just
so much to do,” she admits. “About five or six people work for me at different times.”
The people side of the business is especially appealing to Desiree. She happily admits
she has never shooed anyone out of the kitchen while preparing a meal. She prefers to en-
gage with the hosts and guests, talking and joking and getting to know them. She recalls
cooking for a vacationing family where the young daughter reminded her of herself as a
child.
