Professional Certification:
N\A
Professional Resume:
Chef Calle received his formal culinary training at la Scuola Internationale Di Cucina Italiana, known as Alma, located in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Colorno, Parma Italy. Alma is the world's leading international educational and training center of Italian Cuisine which educates chefs and sommelier from all around the world.
Alma is located in Colorno in the region of Emilia-Romagna located in the Po River Valley in northern Italy. Emilia-Romagna and the Po Valley is internationally famous for its cuisine and legendary Italian DOC and DOCG products such as Prosciutto de Parma cured ham and Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and the true Balsamic Vinegar barrel aged from 12 to 25 years.
Prior to Alma Carl attended the prestigious International Culinary Center, home of the French Culinary Institute and the Italian Culinary Academy, located in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.
After his formal training Carl apprenticed at ?Alla Lanterna? a highly acclaimed fresh seafood restaurant located in the Le Marche region on the Adriatic Coast of Italy which is known for having the finest fresh seafood in the Mediterranean.
However, long before Carl began his formal training he learned to cook from his mother, also a professional cook for her entire adult life, and his Swedish and Polish grandmothers who emigrated to the United States during the early 20th Century.
Carl?s first restaurant job was in his father?s ?Country Kitchen? restaurant when Carl was only 14 years of age. His first outside the family restaurant job was also his first job after high school at the ?Dry Dock Restaurant? where he started as the ?salad chef? aka ?salad boy? at age 18.
Carl?s put his culinary endeavors on hold for the next 30 some years during which he graduated from college and law school and then practiced law in New York for 25 years. During that time period, however, Carl did not leave cooking behind rather, he continued to cook almost every day for his family comprised of 4 children, parents, grandparents and most importantly for his wife and kitchen confidant Mary, who?s own biography is located below.
For the past ten years Carl and Mary have hosted numerous fund raising dinner parties which served as the creative foundation for Baltimore Distinctive Home Dining. These very high end culinary events for which they prepared and served 5-7 course tasting menus raised many thousands of dollars for the Rotary International Foundation and other worthy endeavors. Several of their guests have written testimonials of their experiences.
Mary began her formal food and wine education and training at American Airline?s Flight Attendant Training school in the late 1970?s when airlines served fine wines from glass bottles in crystal stemware; they used real silverware, hot towels and exemplary service to lure customers away from rival airlines by enhancing the flying experience. Mary remembers that American Airlines served the best California wines available at the time and gave first class passengers real ?first class? treatment. During this time flight attendant?s had to weigh in and pass grooming and personal appearance inspections each week in order to fly.
After her flight attendant years, Mary lived in France for 7 years. She studied French at the American College in Paris and experienced French wine as the French do, namely on a daily basis. She took wine classes taught in French and visited wineries and tasted wines in the Regions of Bourgogne, Bordeaux, Reims and the Loire Valley where many of the world?s finest wines are created.
Mary's experience with wine has taught her to understand that fine food is always better when served with fine wine, but that wine preferences and tastes are personal and vary based on individual likes and dislikes. She never tells a customer what wine they ?should like? or what wine is ?good? or ?bad? rather she works to pair wine with the customers personal preferences so that they enjoy the overall dining experience
Company Description:
WELCOME to Baltimore Distinctive Home Dining. Baltimore?s only ? exclusive ? in home ? fine dining service. We are the Baltimore areas only Private Chef and Personal Chef service specializing in fine, in home dining and small events where super high quality is more important than feeding large numbers of guests. This concept brings catering events to a whole new level of excellence.
We use only the freshest, seasonal, wholesome and when possible organic, additive free ingredients to create a true gourmet dining experience you will remember.
The best thing is . . . . WE COME TO YOU!
We will create and serve a 4, 5, 7 or 8 course tasting menu in your kitchen and serve it in your dining room. Each dish may be personally selected by you from our menus or you may create a signature menu for your special event.
The ingredients needed are typically purchased on the day of your event so everything we use is as fresh as possible. Nothing EVER comes out of a storage freezer, cooler or is left over from a restaurant service or prior party.
We strive to use only the freshest, local, seasonal, organic and additive free ingredients, whenever possible. Click here for more information on our menus.
Your Chef is Carl R. Vahl.
Carl's formal training took place at the la Scuola di Internationale di Cucina Italiana in Parma Italy and at the International Culinary Center, home of the French Culinary Institute and the Italian Culinary Academy
in Manhattan.
While Carl's formal training focused on modern Italian cuisine, his family is Swedish and he studied Swedish home cuisine with his grandmother in her kitchen. Carl continues to learn and practice Swedish home cuisine from his family at he and Mary's summer home in Dalsland, Sweden.
Carl's food philosophy is all about seasonality, local products, freshness, simplicity and allowing the ingredients speak for themselves. Carl worked at a fresh seafood restaurant in Fano on the Adriatic Coast of Italy where he came into contact with the most amazing and widest variety of seafood in the Mediterranean.
Carl states, "Baltimore has amazing local seafood resources and a closeness to the Atlantic which make world class fresh fish and seafood available year round. In addition, there is a wide variety of artisanal cheese along with pork, beef, poultry, duck, rabbit and some wild game that make cooking and eating fresh meat really special.
|
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube