Testimonials and recommendations from clients friends:

Thank you so much for making my friend’s first baby shower a success!!! You really came through for us in a very short period of time (5 days)!!! The menu that you created was just what we were looking for in a “brunch baby shower.” The frittatas were the biggest hit! No one even knew what frittatas were and had nothing but wonderful things to say!!! You made sure that things flowed smoothly and we all think that you went above and beyond by making sure no one had to clean up their own dishes and utensils!!! You were more than a chef to us that day…you were the epitome of chivalry!!! Thanks again for all that you did and I will be sure to recommend you to all that I know!!!

Tyra N Henderson

Dear Chef Wells,

I’d like to take this opportunity to let you know how much I appreciate your services for my husband’s birthday party.

I was very impressed with your professionalism, organizational skills, reasonable prices and the food, which was simply delicious! Not only did you do an outstanding job with your food preparation and service, but you went above and beyond by helping me with the decorations and set up. As a matter of fact, you made a very stressful event stress free.

It was a pleasure working with you! Thanks so much!

Stacy Pinkney-Peterson

In December of 2004, The Land Family sponsored their very first family reunion dinner in Cleveland, Ohio. After much consideration, we decided to have Chef Eric Wells from Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services perform an informal presentation of an array of meal possibilities for the officers of the planning committee. Chef Wells was prompt and fully prepared for the presentation. Chef Wells prepared several sample meals that were not only wonderful to look at but exquisite to our pallets. We were all so impressed that we hired Chef Wells to cater our very first dinner. He was prompt, professional and willing to go the extra mile to make our event a success. We cannot say enough positive things about Chef Wells. We would certainly use Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services to cater any event, whether it is formal or casual.

Thank you Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services for a job well done!

Linda Land-Taylor
Family Ties

 Roasted Turkey Breast

2 3lbs. bone-in turkey breasts

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon ground sage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small pot. Brush the butter on both sides of the turkey breast. Season the breasts with salt, pepper and ground sage. Place the breasts on a roasting pan and in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 170 degrees.

Remove and allow the turkey to rest. Using a sharp knife, slice each breast in half horizontally. Serve with mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach.

Yield 4 servings.

This is a post from Michelle Venorsky, an excellent writer and author of a blog called Cleveland Foodie (http://clevelandfoodie.blogspot.com/). We had a chance to meet and she came to one of my cooking classes at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking.

cooking class with chef eric wells

If you could earn a degree by attending cooking classes and demos, I’d have my masters. In our area alone, there are three well-respected “schools” to hone your skills: Viking, Sur La Table and Loretta Paganini. I’ve taken the bulk of my lessons at Viking, both hands-on and demo, followed by Sur la Table, demo only. Last week was my first experience at Loretta Paganini.

The class’s theme, taught by Chef Eric Wells, was pumpkin and squash. The chef demoed roasted butternut squash soup with gruyere croutons, zucchini crostini, squash risotto, pork stew with fennel and acorn squash and chocolate zucchini cake. Unfortunately, pumpkin was missing from all recipes.

I was surprised to see that the school is in a quaint old house. I believe there is a larger addition that we didn’t see; we only had access to the kitchen and small shop. The kitchen reminded me of sitting in grandma’s kitchen. It’s small but cozy and the décor is dated, which I think works in its favor by giving it an overall laid-back atmosphere, more so than Viking or even Sur La Table. There are two long communal tables for the students and you are encouraged to bring your own wine to enjoy with the meal – something the other two don’t offer (although Viking does provide small tastes during most classes). I was also surprised by how affordable this class was – only $35. That’s extremely reasonable for a class and a meal. (note: my class was comped, and my husband paid for his fee.)

The chef did a great job overall. He set the tone right away and made it as interactive and educational as possible. You can tell this guy loves to cook, and even more so, enjoys teaching people what he knows. We were entertained and informed. Everything he made was delicious, especially the soup and risotto, and easy to follow. I‘m trying the soup and risotto this week, and like the tomato paella, will use whole grain basmati instead. I hope it comes out just as flavorful.

The only critique I have is that the class wasn’t run as efficient as it could have been. Maybe no one else noticed this and we were only aware because our puppy, Stella, was home and can’t hold much after four hours. While I can appreciate the chef taking pride and ownership in each step of the recipes, there were several things he could have deferred to his two assistants, like topping crostini and plating. This way he could have been on to the next recipe while the assistants, who looked bored during much of the class, handled the smaller tasks.

In talking to the chef, I learned he has a catering company called Skye Larae, affectionately named after his oldest daughter. He specializes in intimate dinners for two and at-home cooking classes. For the intimate dinners, he provides everything from the china to flowers to cookware. All he uses from the client is the stove and water. What a great gift this would make. I immediately thought of my parents because these are two people who literally don’t need a thing and would appreciate something like this. I also like the idea of having him for in-home cooking classes. My husband and I entertain a lot and this could be fun with the right group. We are currently looking into hosting a wine tasting party with a local sommelier, but this could be a fun option, too.

Chef Eric also shared with the class that he is in the process of opening a restaurant near the Cleveland Clinic. He said it will be the type of place you’d expect to see in Tremont. The restaurant, also called Skye Larae, is expected to open in the next year or so.

All in all it was a great experience thanks in large part to the obvious passion of the chef. Somewhere between the risotto and stew, he shared that he just loves food and talking to people – that he would do this for free if he could. I absolutely believe that – and that, I think, is what makes him a great chef.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
3 eggs
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs in a shallow dish. Stir in garlic. In a separate dish, combine the parsley, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then coat it with the bread crumb mixture. Set breaded chicken breasts aside.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet. Slowly add the chicken breasts to the skillet. Brown the chicken on each side, turning frequently, for about 6 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven and bake the chicken for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and serve with wild rice and mixed vegetables.

Yield 4 servings

Culinary Delights in Your Home
with Chef Eric Wells

Without you lifting a Finger!

During these challenging economic and social times it behooves us to
become more innovative. As rising prices and declining service runs
rampant, we seem to have fewer and fewer opportunities to really enjoy
ourselves. Recently our friend Kim planted a thought in our minds of a
slightly different way to enjoy ourselves for an evening, without the hassle of driving to an overbooked restaurant, waiting to be waited on, having a meal prepared behind a wall we cannot see through, and often served by an obviously overworked staff. After all that drama, and having become full and lazy, we are then faced with the challenge of trying to avoid being the one who has to drive home. No, this innovative thought Kim shared with us IS NOT called shopping, dicing, washing, draining, cooking, and doing the dishes and pots and pans. It’s really as simple as a phone call to Chef Eric Wells, proud owner of Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services.

Eric will bring his culinary skills into your home, feed you until your eyes roll around in your head, and leave you absolutely none of the challenges of cooking at home or eating out. More good news is that having Chef Eric come to your home is more an experience than an experiment. Not only does Eric come highly recommended by Kim, but ironically (or maybe not so ironically), Eric is currently teaching a series of cooking classes at the Mt. Zion Church of Oakwood Village. That’s right, he can make your stomach happy, but he can also teach you how to duplicate that happiness, for those times when he is not available.

For more information about Eric’s current series of classes at Mt. Zion, go to www.henryfordswebsite.com/calendar.html.

Contact Eric at 216-254-2808, e-mail him at info@skyelaraes.com or visit his web site at www.skyelaraes.com.

www.henryfordswebsite.com