“My passion, when it comes to food, is to empower others to think outside of what we have been taught, and really listen to what our bodies are telling us.” Chef Deborah Lieder
Welcome Chef Deborah, chef extraordinaire, to our Body Mind Spirit Community! We are fortunate to have her as the newest member of our Body Mind Spirit Guide team, as her monthly articles both inform and inspire us when it comes to food, healthy eating, and conscious, flavorful choices. As a personal Chef, she caters to individuals who want good, clean, quality food at a good price!
From a young age, Chef Deborah has been incredibly passionate about food. “My mother never cared much about being in the kitchen, but for some reason, it felt like my home. Most of my cooking experiences as a child were with my grandma via Sunday dinners, cooking and baking for the holidays, and holiday meal preparations. I was also very health-minded as a young individual, something I did inherit from my mother,” she says.
Upon graduating from high school, she attended Schoolcraft College’s Culinary Arts program. “I was fortunate to learn under four certified master chefs when there were only 79 in the nation. It fulfilled a very traditional side of me. I love to know the roots of everything, where it comes from and why. I always had a love affair with the French, how poetic their lives were and the way they loved food.”
Still, she hungered for something more, desiring to create healthy food in a delicious way. At the time, vegetarian/vegan food was looked at as hippy food or cardboard, as there were few choices, unlike what we have today. “I experimented with vegetarian and vegan diets, trying to find the answer between food and health. I had a lot of friends who chose cleaner food lifestyles and I was determined to translate French food into healthy cuisine.”
She then attended a natural cooking school in Colorado, that centered on the healing aspects of food. “They used healing ingredients and manipulated them in a way that assimilated traditional French culinary, which is exactly what I was looking for. It challenged me to think outside the box and utilize ingredients in a different sort of way.”
After returning home, she began a stint in the restaurant business, learning more of the business side — ordering, managing, and running kitchens. “It’s a beautiful industry, and when everything is flowing, it’s like a symphony.”
Yet still, she hadn’t found her voice. She began working with clients that were interested in healing with food, some with ailments or specific dietary guidelines that were not mainstream. “I began exploring the natural side to life; the way whole foods vs. processed foods affect our mind-body connection, our wellness, and overall longevity. I learned how herbs can be used as medicine, even when cooking with them. I recognized that life does not operate by a quick fix; just as disease takes time to form, so does healing.”
She learned that being modern when it comes to food, isn’t necessarily the best. “We’re loosing our roots, our tradition, by switching to a processed world. Our bodies can’t even recognize what we’re eating! It all seems backwards to me.”
Chef Deborah found her voice as a personal chef and educator, providing personalized services including meal preparation for families who want to eat better, dinners and holiday parties, rehearsal dinners, and in-office catering. She also offers cooking classes, lectures and workshops focusing on the value of eating healthy in today’s world.
“My passion, when it comes to food, is to empower others to think outside of what we have been taught, and really listen to what our bodies are telling us. You can take a few ingredients and make a truly delicious, healing meal out of it. I desire to get people thinking about what is real and authentic, to align more with their being, so that they too can hear what their body is telling them to do. I want everyone to be the best version of themselves!”
Contact Chef Deborah at: 248-974-5696 or: deborahlieder@aol.com. For more information visit her website: www.deborahlieder.com
