The Ingredients to Success With Kathleen O’Brien Price
Kathleen O’Brien Price is from sunny Southern California. She is a graduate of both UC Berkeley and Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts. Following graduation from Le Cordon Bleu, Kathleen became a personal chef for a famous family in Hollywood, where she was affectionately nicknamed ‘Chefleen.’ After flourishing as a private chef, Kathleen started her own catering company, based in Culver City, California. She also consulted on the creation of several new menus, including an all-organic alehouse in Venice Beach. After conquering the west coast Kathleen moved to New York City, where she has continued as a private chef, splitting her time between clients in the city and the Hamptons.
Kathleen lives out loud and is a lover of both food and life. She is known for being free-spirited, passionate, and honest. Her words to live by are: freedom, serenity, and love. She looks and listens for the signs in the world. She is a very down-to-earth, sociable, and curious person who believes in squeezing the nectar out of life.
Kathleen knows that shopping and prepping to cook can, at times, be an overwhelming and daunting task. She knows that cooking is not as much fun for everyone as it is for her. Food is very personal for Kathleen and she does not believe that it is necessary to sacrifice flavor when shopping on a budget. She loves to pass on the secrets of making delicious and healthy meals while maintaining a fast-paced lifestyle. Her mission is to teach, to learn, and to inspire.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD AND HOW IT WAS GROWING UP?
Kathleen: I grew up in California, Southern California a little place called Moreno Valley which no one's ever heard of but it's in between LA and Palm Springs. In terms of food, it's interesting because I feel like I just grew up very American; I'm Black and White but when someone asks, “what are you,” I always say I'm American. I feel like I really am just this American person. California is this mixing pot and I grew up eating Thai food and Mexican food and hamburgers and barbecue. Barbecue is a huge thing in our house because you can barbecue all year in Southern California.
I love food. That left me a little lost in the food world as I became a chef because all these people on TV have specific foods they cook. For instance, this person cooks Indian food or this person cooks this kind of food and I feel like I cook everything. I feel as if that added to who I am but it also hurt me because I feel so lost, like mixed. I have a blog called “A Little Mixed Up” where I talk about like struggles of food and growing up.
WHAT DID YOU STUDY AT UC BERKELEY?
Kathleen: Because my mom is a teacher, I went to a four-year college even though I wanted to go to culinary school right out of high school.
I sort of knew I wanted to be a chef in high school. I knew I loved food. I was passionate about it and it made me really excited, but like I said, my mom was a teacher so she was like no, you need to go to a real school. Which in hindsight, I'm very glad that I ended up going to UC Berkeley and I got a degree in Mass Communication. I thought I wanted to be a newscaster but my degree at UC Berkeley made me realize I hated the news because it's all lies. It's like all this theory and concept that you're learning is controlled by so many people.
I decided to go to culinary school for a diploma program which was like half the cost. I did five days a week, five hours a day for seven months in the kitchen. I loved it and was never sick one day, unlike college, where I missed a few classes.
I was in California and got a job with Will and Jada Smith as like a kitchen assistant. I worked there for two and a half years. After culinary school I was a little lost for a few weeks. I didn't want to work in a restaurant.
It was a big point of validation because older people were like, “What are you going to culinary school for?” Now my niece works for Will and Jada Smith.
TALK ABOUT YOUR PRIVATE CHEF CAREER AND REAL-LIFE COOKING?
Kathleen: Eight years after Will and Jada, I moved to New York when I was 25. It was another huge risk for me, I moved with nothing.
I was in LA and just packed three bags. I moved onto my best friend's couch and I was like, “I'm going to live on your couch for three months. I'll start paying you rent after three months but please give me those three months to get my life together because I have nothing.”
Within a week I had a job as a broker. I had all these little random jobs just to make money and then by April I found a family that I ended up working for, for four years. I was private cheffing for them.
WHAT’S THE END GOAL?
Kathleen: The end goal is to have my own TV, yes cooking show because I growing up I was like a weird kid that watched all these Food Network shows like after school. I was like oh my gosh Martha Stewart's on at 4 o'clock or there’s this show call Cooking Live oh my gosh I need to be home to watch it but also growing up as American as I felt I didn't see anyone that looked like me that was cooking like me on TV. So from a very young age I was aware of that gap because if they look like me they were generally like frying chicken. Not everyone that's black and brown just fries chicken; there's so much diversity within our culture. That's totally missing from food media and that's the void I'm wanting to fill.
TELL US ABOUT THE REALITY SHOW THAT YOU WON.
Kathleen: I won Chopped earlier this year in March. It's a competition show where there's four chefs, three rounds and there's mystery ingredients. I was on an episode called Luck of the Irish so all the ingredients were Irish.
I am half Irish and half black. It was funny because I went up against the real Irish man from Ireland and two people that worked in Irish restaurants. People watching at home probably wondered, “Why is she on this episode?” I was intimidated by a lot of the other chefs and the two men, especially because they looked like real chefs; they were big burly men. I'm just there with my sparkly headband reiterating to myself I know how to do this. That experience is so crazy yeah because it's like oh my gosh I just don't want to get out the first round.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
Kathleen: I find inspiration through food and I really enjoy teaching people how to cook. When I get feedback about my own food or when I've even helped someone, that really inspires me to keep going and keep pushing.
“Not everyone that’s black and brown just fries chicken; there’s so much diversity within our culture. That’s totally missing from food media and that’s the void I’m wanting to fill.”
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR PASSION AND WHEN DID YOU KNOW?
Kathleen: My passion I love food, probably more than a lot of people in the world. But it’s not only food; that's why I can't work in a restaurant necessarily because in a restaurant you’re dealing with food all the time but privately and on the media platforms you’re teaching people how to cook. It really encompasses the whole experience of food like the community around eating and enjoying food. It's not about just the creation or using like 500-year-old Balsamic vinegar or thousand-dollar truffle. To me, food is about nourishing your body, nurturing your soul, talking to people, and sitting around the table.
WHAT'S BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR CULINARY CAREER?
Kathleen: My biggest challenge throughout the whole experience of being a chef has been myself because when I am able to get over myself and just decide to do something, it happens. It's about switching your mental capacity to making your challenges become beneficial opportunities. Instead of thinking my life is so hard I’ve had to change my circumstances and mind. Media and food are things I want to do. I moved to New York and got distracted having the time of my life. I started a cooking series called “Let's Cook” which, was on YouTube for a little while, but I had a lot of excuses such as finding an editor and videographer. On “Real Life Cooking”, I'm doing a meal from start to finish on live stream TV. There’re no excuses so if something goes wrong, I have to fix it, which is much like life. It’s my own philosophy for living, I just need to get outside of my own head.
SO WHAT FRUSTRATES YOU THE MOST ABOUT TODAY'S CULTURE?
Kathleen: The onset of things on Instagram and Facebook. I mean these things have been around for a while now. I'm conflicted because on one point I want to be authentic in this space, but at the same time, there are so many smoking mirrors. Someone could have a million followers and people think their life is great, but they also have a camera crew following them around and editing every little thing. People always tell me I should do my hair a certain way if I’m going to take pictures for Instagram. It's a balance. Yes I should comb my hair if I want people to like take a second look at me, but at the same time, this is who I am and I don't feel that way all the time.
WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
Kathleen: I just read the “Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.” I took away that I'm too nice of a person. That book in particular helped me like just start living in the now like stop making excuses.
“To me, food is about nourishing your body, nurturing your soul, talking to people, and sitting around the table.”
ANY ADVICE FOR THOSE LOOKING TO BECOME A CHEF?
Kathleen: When I first started out, someone told me to cook every day, be curious and be consistent. In terms of building a brand or becoming a private chef, there are agencies that you new comers can apply to. Most of the agencies want you to have experience, so that's why it's important for you to cook every day.
WHAT’S YOUR THE FAVORITE MEAL TO EAT AND BEST MEAL TO COOK?
Kathleen: I'm a pretty basic eater, which is funny because I'm a chef. I love like a delicious medium-rare steak. Being from California, I love tacos. Usually any kind of taco, but especially tacos that have been braised for a super long time. What advice do you have for the next generation?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s centered around food. I love the warm feelings and flavors of fall. Thanksgiving encapsulates all of those. My dad smokes the turkey, which is super good, but I make all the sides like kale or collard greens, mac and cheese you have some cranberry sauce.
LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW THEY CAN FIND YOU ONLINE.
Kathleen: You can find me on all media platforms as @chefleen and I have “Real Life Cooking” going on every Sunday and you can actually cook along. There's an email list you can sign up for and you can actually cook along as I'm cooking. We make a real meal from start to finish, no gimmicks, no TV magic and it's a lot of fun. You can also ask any sort of culinary questions you have along the way and I can answer them on camera as well. We’re live streaming on Facebook and Instagram every Sunday at 7pm.
Interested in learning more or connecting with Kathleen?
Instagram: @chefleen
Written by Brandon Alexander