Fixing Your Own Grub

Ever feel overwhelmed after collecting your bountiful harvest of veggies that you’re just not sure what to do with them?   My garden hasn’t even started to produce and I’m already worried about how I’m going to use the 20 plugs of peppers I’m pampering.  So I’ve begged for help from the Veggie Chef himself, Sam Auen.

Chef Sam Auen’s love for cooking from the garden started early in life.  Born in Denison, Iowa and raised with Julia Childs, Jaques Pepin, and Jeff Smith on the television, a backyard garden, and fresh produce from his grandparents’ farm, he saw the possibilities of fresh cuisine were far beyond that of the growing processed food trends of the 80’s.

Cooking for family and friends as a child on into his teen years Sam discovered a true passion for food which landed him a job cooking for a Korean-owned restaurant at the age of 17.  Six months after high school, the travel bug struck and Mr. Auen joined the U.S. Army, which brought him to South Carolina, Washington D.C, and Tenessee among many other places.

After living in the South and in the Philadelphia area and sampling food from all corners of American Cuisine, Sam settled back in his native Iowa in 2002 and adopted a strict-vegetarian diet.  With this new diet came an exciting time of cooking re-discovery which prompted a return to the professional cooking world.  He has brought his Vegetarian flair to such diverse Downtown Des Moines kitchens as Beggar’s Banquet, Cafe Di Scala, Centro, Gateway Market Cafe, and Zen Sushi.

With eight years of Vegetarian and Vegan cooking under his belt, Chef Sam will use his experience starting next week to show you new and possibly exciting ways to prepare the vegetables harvested from your personal garden.

In the meantime, get that garden growing!

Katie Ketelsen