written by for Venus Rising Magazine
cancer 08 Issue
Lauren Gammon began The Nomadic Chef in 2003 as a small catering company to outfit multi-course meals for 15-25 guests. Five years later she still loves to do the dinner parties, but she also tries to fit in 6-8 events for 100-200 guests as well as cooking classes during the off season. Lauren says the food itself her motivation. New ingredients, a trip to an ethnic market in the city, and heirloom varieties at the farmers market all make her dance with joy.
Lauren’s family has always had a deep passion for food. When politics, interests, and sensibilities diverge, Lauren says that food has always brought them together. Lauren’s father worked in international sales for Carrier Air Conditioning the first 20 years of her life. He lived all over the world and infused the travel and food bug into both Lauren and her brother. They lived in Singapore and Indonesia between 1979 and 1982 and traveled to other parts of the world on home leave. “I literally have pictures of me in a kimono in a Japanese temple eating my first quail egg with kid-sized chopsticks that I still own.”
Three Mushroom Dumpling Lauren returned to South East Asia after college in 1998 and took a seven-month solo journey to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Nepal. It became evident that she was driven to travel by the urge to fill her belly. If given the chance, she would wander for endless hours from food stall to food stall in search of a special night market or the perfect mango. Four years later, she returned to Thailand & Laos with the intension of writing a business plan for a catering company focused on small ethnic dinner parties. She spent two months collecting recipes and ideas for interesting fare while using her limited knowledge of Lao & Thai to decipher ingredients. When she returned back to the states, she spent the next four months in the test kitchen rewriting recipes to fit what was available locally.
Lauren’s business has since grown beyond the flavors of South East Asia to encompass the spectrum of global fare. Now only about 25 percent of the food she puts out is Asian based. She dabbles heavily in Mediterranean, Indian, and South and Central American as well. With unexpected items on the menu such as “Miniature Beef and Green Olive Empanadas” and “Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Dumpling served with basil pesto” she has clearly taken the next step to create a unique fusion of many cuisines.
As one might expect, Lauren says there is a fair amount of stress involved with the catering business, and every job presents its challenges. “My biggest challenge is figuring out how to empower the client with out compromising the integrity of the business. People have a lot of ideas about how they can lower the cost of a large event. This usually involves the client wanting to take over a particular aspect of the event that would typically be considered under the umbrella of the caterer. Whether it’s providing 100 forks their aunt has stashed away somewhere or doing the appetizers themselves, it almost always ends up falling short of ideal timing-wise and ultimately adds a whole lot of stress to my job. The trick is to trouble shoot, improvise, and create flow in the moment so the client never knows there was ever a short-coming.”
Minced Prawn on Lemongrass To overcome this repeated issue, Lauren has really had to tighten up her business and create a few more formalities. “My clients are generally really unique people with a festive spirit and involving that spirit into the event is important. So there is a fine-tuned balance that I am always trying to achieve and ultimately I think everyone benefits.”
Lauren gets giddy when she comes up with some new technique for presentation that explodes with beauty. “Food is so fleeting yet so fulfilling in the moment, like Andrew Goldsworthy’s philosophy around art, bringing food into a new realm through presentation does make my heart jump a beat.”
Lauren has also been learning a lot about her creative cycle. “There are certain times of the year when all I want to do is create a new dish, an exotic sauce, or use an ingredient in a totally new and innovative way. I revel in those times and they inspire me to constantly renovate my menu and try it out on the large scale.”
Beet and Ricotta Salata Salad Terrace In the slow periods Lauren recovers and reflects while teaching cooking classes. “The cooking classes are truly an enriching experience. I kind of have a micro following of folks who look to me for inspiration in their own kitchens. Somehow there is a lot of heart in that. Thanks to Eddie who runs the community education program at Hinesburg, Vermont’s Champlain Valley High School, my classes stay full. After three hours, people leave feeling they have been transported to another culture.”
So what is Lauren’s advice for other women who want to start a similar business? “Dive in headfirst and work out the details as you go. Don’t worry what other people are doing in your field too much and befriend competition. Always find a way to make it work for your client, but be strong in your knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. Allow yourself time away to relax and be nurtured.”
And what is next for Lauren? “More creative morsels, more creative gardening of exotic heirlooms, and someday maybe a cookbook or guiding culinary vacations. Who knows? All I know is that I love food any way you slice it!”
For more information about The Nomadic Chef or private cooking classes, go to www.nomadicchef.com or email Lauren@nomadicchef.com. For more information on community cooking classes in Hinesburg, Vermont, go to www.cvuhs.org/access. 
© 2008 Venus Rising Magazine