Chef Jean Denham, CC

Jean Denham, who was an early member of the Chef2Chef forum family has always had a passion for cooking. Her first dinner party, at the age of 20, was made up of recipes she found in the newly released Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle.

After pulling that feat off, she continued cooking for family, friends and coworkers for another 40 years before entering Culinary School. Because of the mentors, friends and instructors she was lucky enough to have in her life during her schooling, she was able to skip many steps in her career and became head chef at Foresthill Lodge Hotel after 3 years in the culinary field. In conjunction with attending ACF’s Apprenticeship Program, she worked as a Personal Chef, a caterer and filled in at local Country Clubs.

She and her husband, Roy, have recently sold their 3-acre vineyard/farm in Northern California and relocated to Port Angeles, Washington – on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. They will be using Port Angeles as a home base, but they will travel all over the U.S. Roy, doing his Engineering Consulting and Jean begging stagings with chefs in every town they land. Also, on their jaunts around the country, she will make many stops at their eight children’s homes to cook for them along the way.

She continues her affiliation with American Culinary Federation and working with apprentices to find their way into the cooking field. “And, as long as I can lift the pots in the kitchen, I’ll be a part of the Culinary Fundraiser dinners!”

Among opportunities Jean is looking forward to in her semi-retirement years are requests from neighbors in her new hometown to offer them cooking lessons and working on two cookbooks, one of which will be a compilation of family recipes she has learned from her mother and grandmother.