Cooking or Whatever

Cooking or Whatever       Chef Chris Koch                                                            

office (215) 801.5540

About Cooking or Whatever

Many things to many people.....

What do I do for a living???  Depends on the day!!!  Teaching one day, consulting the next, tomorrow developing recipes, next day travelling to work at a food show  and so it goes....and so it goes.....

Biography

Currently, I spend most of my days Food Styling ( www.foodstylist.us ) and teaching.   I teach Professional Studies at the Goodwin College at Drexel, as well as private and group cooking classes. 

I am the former Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Director at the Manor at Middletown Country Club, Langhorne, PA, and Author of Learning the Basics – A Home Cook’s Guide to the Kitchen. 

In addition to writing my own book, I have also developed recipes for two non-fiction books and tested recipes for "On Cooking" 4th & 5th Ed

My current focus is helping to fight Childhood Obesity and have lectured to a number of groups on Healthy Living, Farm to Table and Food Safety.

  Throughout the 1970s, I worked in a number of food service operations –fast food, family style, resorts and country clubs in the Midwest.  In 1982, I received a Bachelors Degree from Indiana University and left the kitchen for a suit and tie.  I became a TV Ad Sale Guy.  It was fun and I did very well and was promoted into MANAGEMENT.

After a successful 12 year career in Television Advertising Sales Management with NBC and CBS in late 1980s and early 1990s, I took the opportunity to return to my first love – food, After receiving a formal degree in the Culinary Arts, I strove to marry my love of food with the experience in advertising. 

During the late 1990s, my work took me into such well known houses as Deux Cheminee in Philadelphia; The Restaurants at Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, PA; and the Blue Bell Country Club in Blue Bell PA.  In 1997, it was my honor to study with Chef Michael Meunier at Le Grand Monarque Hotel in Chartres France.

In the recent past, I served as Kitchen Director for a number of Television shows dedicated to food including: “Epicurious TV” on the Travel Channel; “15 and Done" on Comcast Cable, “Christina Cooks” on PBS and "Digital Cookbook" on Comcast On-Demand.

I am a 2nd Degree Black Belt and Masters Student in Haidong Gumdo and Executive Director of the Haidong Martial Arts Academy -www.koreansword.org;  former member of the Board of Directors of the Delaware Valley Chef’s Association: a Certified Serve Safe instructor for the National Restaurant Association;  I have been honored by inclusion in the 2000 International Who’s Who and I am a  member of the Central Atlantic States Food and Drug Officials Association (CASA).