Interview with Chef Vanessa Yeung of Aphrodite Cooks

Chef Vanessa Yeung. Photo courtesy of Jing of Imajing.

I am excited that Mary’s Happy Belly will be launching a new Chef series on my blog showcasing Toronto Asian Chefs. Why Asian Chefs? I wanted to a platform to highlight the community while narrowing down the number of Chefs to showcase. The Chefs I will interview will include both East and Southeast Asian Chefs. As my recipes on my blog include Cantonese and Asian inspired recipes, I feel that there is a match between the Chefs I showcase and my blog.  The interviews will allow you to learn more about the Chefs outside their businesses.

My first interview is with Chef Vanessa Yeung of Aphrodite Cooks; a successful catering company and cooking school.

I have known about Chef Vanessa Yeung from attending various culinary events over the years and found out last year that she went to university with my older sister. Talk about a small world! I was intrigued to know that after university she had changed careers to follow her passion and skills into the culinary world.

During Eat To Beat; a charity event that benefits The Canadian Cancer Society, I was impressed by her simple and delicious dumplings. Lucky me, I had a chance to attend one of her cooking classes focused on making various Chinese dishes including ginger chicken pot stickers, siu mai, and mini coconut tarts. I have attended many cooking classes, and felt that Vanessa’s class trumps many others in comparison because it is hands-on, organized, and the quality of the lesson and dishes.

Short Bio of Chef Vanessa Yeung:  

Vanessa’s culinary journey began as a cook with catering companies in and around the Toronto area. Seeking a deeper knowledge and understanding of food, she applied to the celebrated Stratford Chefs School. The intense training and the opportunities that the school provided led Vanessa to graduate with the Award of Culinary Excellence and a prestigious apprenticeship at one of Canada’s top restaurants, Scaramouche. It was there she honed her skills and her palate, to understand that sometimes simplicity is the road to perfection.

After her time as a research and development chef at one of Canada’s largest food manufacturing companies, Vanessa felt her true calling was catering and providing personal chef services. She has catered, among many, to the Hospital for Sick Children, York University, University of Toronto and the Credit Union of Ontario.” (Source: www.aphroditecooks.com).

Interview with Chef Vanessa Yeung:

About Vanessa’s background…

1. When did you first discover you enjoyed cooking?

I was really interested in cooking at the age of 8. I had discovered how to read a recipe and enjoyed the idea of playing in the kitchen. I may not have understood the instructions very well but I really like following the directions.

2. What made you take the leap to attend culinary school?

I was in university and realized that I wasn’t interested in a lot of the courses I was taking so I decided to go to culinary school after university and work in acquiring more practical knowledge.

3. With an expressive experience working in the culinary industry from restaurants to a private chef, what made you want to teach, and start a catering company?

What drew me to start a catering company/cooking school was having the variety of events. The caterings and the cooking classes are very different from one another and it is the variety in events that keeps me on my toes and allows me to be creative and work on logistics of setting up a catering event or teaching a cooking class.

4. When did start Aphrodite Cooks and how did you go about choosing the name?

The company started in 2006. The name came from an idea for dating cooking classes. Unfortunately we do not run the dating cooking classes anymore, but we kept the name to represent the love of food and the food you love.

5. What was it like to be the private Chef for former NHL goaltender Ed Belfour?

It was a great job. The main meal was lunch for the family and I was able to be creative in a beautiful kitchen.

About Vanessa’s eating habits and preferences:

6. Your typical eating day consists of…?

My day starts with eating breakfast. I usually like a savory breakfast of toast and some sort of protein with a tea. Then lunch is usually out an about depending how busy the day is. It is usually the time for my husband and I to have dates. Dinner is for 6 pm if I am not working in the evening and it usually consists of a protein, vegetables and starch. I try to make at least one thing that my kids will eat and for the most part I do not make an alternative meal for my kids. I know what they like and what they will eat so I try to take in consideration what we all like into dinner.

7. What is your signature dish?

That is a tough one. I have ones for the business and I have ones for the family, but I would say one that crosses into both worlds is my pork ragu. It is pork shoulder that is braised in red wine and tomatoes for 2.5 hours and then served over egg noodles or my favourite polenta. No one in my family likes polenta but I do.

8. Your HK Style ginger chicken potstickers had won 1st place at a Dumpling competition in the past. Congratulations! I was lucky enough to have tasted it. What are tips for home cooks who want to make your potstickers at home? What were some of the ingredients in the filling?

Come to my cooking class?! Be patient when it comes to the folding of the dumplings. The folding can be daunting to some, but as I say in my cooking classes after you make a few hundred of them you get the hang of it. I would also suggest not being afraid to use oil. They are called potstickers and when there is not enough oil or the pan is not hot enough they will stick. For the filling, if you are unsure about the amount of seasoning that went in there then take some of the filling and fry it. If it tastes good then it is good to go to make dumplings.

9. What is your kids favourite dish that you make? Do they help in the kitchen?

I am very lucky that my kids like a wide variety of food, but I would say that they like pasta in any shape or form the most. I think that is due to their Italian heritage. They help sometimes when I feel like we could cook together, but most times it is about getting a meal on the table in time to make sure that they don’t turn to snacks. They really like to make pizza. The toppings are simple, but they understand the idea of rolling the dough and stretching it out to fit the pan and putting the sauce on.

10. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with at the moment? What ingredient can you live without?

The ingredient that I can’t live without is garlic. I learned that through my company. I find that when someone has an allergy to garlic and onions, it is really hard to replace those flavours and still make things taste good. An ingredient that I really like using these days is tamarind. I really love the sweet and sour contrast that it can bring out.

Vanessa’s advice:

11. What advice do you have for someone who wants to teach cooking classes?

Make sure you never underestimate your students, especially kids. They will surprise. Always give all of your knowledge and offer as much instruction as possible. As the instructor, keep learning!

12. “Eat to the Beat” is a charity event that benefits The Canadian Cancer Society that features the talent of 60 female chefs. Will we see you again this year? Do you feel that it is challenging for women to do well as a chef in this industry?

We have been a part of Eat to the Beat for 11 years and will hopefully be at this years. This is a tough industry for anyone. There is a lot of competition in the food industry and everyone is doing their best just to make a living. We need to recognize that everyone has their own unique talents and strengthens and then champion them for that. When one does well then we all do well.

Learn more:

To learn more about Vanessa’s classes, and catering menu, head to https://www.aphroditecooks.com/ and follow her on Social Media.

Website: https://www.aphroditecooks.com/
Instagram:@aphroditecooks
Twitter: @AphroditeCooks
Facebook: /aphroditecooks

Also, read my Interview with Food writer, judge on Top Chef Canada, and TV personality Mijune Pak.