About the cook
Claire began cooking for private clients in Bellingham in 2003. She’s been a personal chef, caterer and instructor ever since, with the occasional hiatus for travel and family priorities. Several years earlier she’d left a career in marketing to raise her kids and quickly realized she didn’t want to return to an office. That’s when she decided to turn a lifelong culinary hobby into a business. Already an accomplished home cook, she gained a solid foundation in classical as well as contemporary styles at Seattle’s Bon Vivant School of Cooking, completing its five intensive certificate courses and becoming an assistant.
Additionally, Claire grew her knowledge of regional and international cuisines as a class assistant to many professional chefs; as a cookbook junkie who reads them like novels; and as an enthusiastic improvisational cook who simply trusts her good instincts around food. She’s been lucky enough to live in France on two occasions: a full year in Provence in ’80-’81 and six months in the Languedoc in 2010. During these stays, she had several opportunities to cook with French and Spanish chefs in their restaurant kitchens. Both sojourns provided a base camp for extended travel, and culinary experiences in Spain, Italy, Greece, Israel, Germany, Croatia, Hungary and elsewhere have influenced and informed her cooking.
Claire has always encouraged clients to ‘slow down and eat local,’ to enjoy the seasons of Whatcom and Skagit Counties’ agricultural bounty, and to strengthen connections with family and community over a good meal. As a long-term breast cancer survivor, she is especially eager to share her knowledge of nutrition, cooking methods and meal planning that do not compromise taste or enjoyment, but support a healthy lifestyle.
Cuisine Claire is a proud member of Sustainable Connections and its Food & Farming program, and SC’s Eat Local First, Toward Zero Waste, and Bank Local First initiatives. Cuisine Claire was also a longtime member of the United States Personal Chef Association.
