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Business & Tech

Meet Chef Kate Bradley: The Dancing, 'Walking Cookbook'

In the big dance that is life, there are those who waltz and those who watusi. And then there's local chef Kate Bradley, who for the past 15 years has been doing the hustle.

A graduate of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, chef Kate Bradley ran a bakery in Evanston for a while,  then got married and moved back to the south suburbs. After that, she had a child, bought a bakery in Evergreen Park, had another child and soon after, sold the bakery.

She then took a job cooking for the priests at Christ the King Church in Beverly, and was just about to retire to "work on my golf game and just be a mom," when she got a call from the .

In May 2008, Adult Program Director Mary Deering proposed the idea of a food-themed presentation and asked if Bradley would be interested in giving it a try. She was. Today, Bradley travels to 17 libraries throughout the south suburbs, serving up pleasing portions of cooking inspiration and information along with tasty samples of her featured recipes.

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"The classes took off and my golf clubs never came out of the garage," Bradley said, without a hint of disappointment. 

It would be easy to be jealous of the cute-as-a-button, perky redhead, except she's about the nicest, most generous person you'd ever care to meet, which makes it impossible to be anything but happy for her success.

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Bradley's classes almost always sell out. Her presentations are a quarter recipe sharing, a quarter cooking tips, a quarter food trivia, a quarter eating, and a whole lot of fun. 

"I don't think of myself as a cooking demonstrator because the libraries don't have kitchens that allow me to actually cook," Bradley said. "I guess you could say I'm more like a walking cookbook."

Bradley's catalogue of presentations has grown to more than 50, and includes titles ranging from "Meatless Meals" to "Abundance of Apples." Themes typically center around seasonal and holiday foods. Her classes are for all ages, but she is occasionally asked to present a teen-only class, such as the one featuring gingerbread coming up at the Evergreen Park Public Library.

Bradley also is a master gardener and composter (no surprise there), and frequently gives presentations about gardening, preserving, and canning herbs and vegetables.

The time it takes to prepare for each presentation depends on the food that's being showcased. Appetizers require the least preparation, about three hours, while classes featuring a full meal can take up to seven hours to prepare.

Bradley selects recipes that can be easily transported, won't spoil, and can be served in chafing dishes. They have to feed a crowd of as many as 60, which is the average size of Bradley's classes.

"I really wanted to make chocolate soup for a Julia Child class I did last, but I couldn't figure out how to get it there without spilling, and so that the meringue on top wouldn't weep after sitting around," Bradley said. "We did cream puffs instead."

Bradley also is a certified personal chef. Clients hire her to come to their homes to help plan menus for parties and private dinners. She then shops for the food, prepares it on-site, serves it fresh from the oven or stove top, and cleans up afterward.

With all that ambition packed into one young woman, the cup is sure to overflow with future goals and ideas. Bradley's ambition is to one day open another bakery in Evergreen Park. 

"I already have my eye on a building," Bradley said. "I'd offer cooking classes and I'd have tables so people could order soup and a sandwich or drop by for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie. That would be my ideal shop."

But even "glass-half-full" Bradley realizes that with the present state of the economy,  that's not likely to happen anytime soon, "unless I have a rich backer."

Until then, Bradley is relishing the opportunity she now has to have her cake and eat it too by being able to work from home, and be there when her children come home from school. But even the effervescent Bradley is quick to admit that balancing work and family can be exhausting.

 "I'm never just cooking," she said. "If I'm home, I am also doing laundry, making phone calls, watering gardens — usually all at the same time."

Her advice to wanna-be work at home mothers like herself?

"It's important to not work 24/7," Bradley said. "You need to be able to step away and just be you."

Which might explain why on any given day, if you dropped by her kitchen, you'd find the radio blasting oldies and Bradley dancing as she slices and dices. Somehow that's exactly how you'd expect to find her — twisting and shouting her way to the perfect soufflé.

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