Entries tagged with “Biography”.
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Fri 10 Jul 2009
Fri 5 Jun 2009
Featured in…
“Good Eating” Section Feb 23, 2005
Featured in…
“Food” Section Jan 4, 2006
Featured on…
“Kids Feeding Kids” Oct 19, 2009
The party was amazing. You are so talented.
The food was delicious. It was all I hoped for
and much more. I am so glad that you
came into my life!! With your professionalism,
great attitude, amazing culinary skills,
the party was a huge success!! Thank you!!
Ally, Ally Gruener Photography
Dear Cali, The Countryside Elementary
School families, along with the PTO,
wanted to say thank you for volunteering
your time and knowledge toward our
enrichment program. Each of our children
look forward to this program and we
couldn’t succeed without your participation.
– Countryside Elementary School
Dear Cali, Thank you for a fabulous evening!
Everything from the food to the place cards were
absolutely wonderful! You really helped to make
my special day grand! Thanks again — Michele Belser
Everything was superb!
The food was delicious! Thanks for a wonderful evening…
– Erin Flanagan
Cali, We had a great time, and you made a
last minute plan on our part into something that was
festive and elegant. Thank you! We will definitely be in touch.
Jenna and Kurt Susanke
Dear Cali: On behalf of the Barrington Junior Women’s Club, thank you for being part of our Bistro Night at Pinstripes. Your kind donation was a large part of our success for the evening. As you know, the focus of our event this year was domestic violence. Your generous support of our organization allows us to help WINGS and the Cynthia L. Bischof Memorial Foundation as well as many local area non-for-profit organizations that depend upon us each year for financial assistance. Please know that BJWC appreciates all that you have done to contribute to this event and realizes that we could not have achieved this success without the support of community members such as yourself. Thank you for all that you do!
The party was a huge success
and the beautiful food was a big part of it.
Cali, thank you so much for doing
such an amazing job.
– Joan and Alex
We really enjoyed your cooking Saturday night.
I have received nothing but raves from our guests. Thank you
so much for taking such good care of us!
– Robert and Cathi Parks
My daughter and I took your pasta class a few weeks ago and
I can’t begin to tell you how great it was!
The following day, I bought a pasta
machine and have made the same recipe several times–
it always comes out perfect!
Thanks again for an enjoyable and truly productive class.
– Kathy Harris
Everything was outstanding !!!
You did a fabulous job for our catered dinner
and cooking class event.
I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it was
and how all the girls came in to work
on Friday and just raved. The food was fantastic.
I can’t say enough about how great an evening everyone had.
I wish you many years of success.
– Sara Nulle, Wells Mfg Co.
We loved having you cater our dinner!
Everything was perfect, everyone loved all the food.
I think I could live on the bacon wrapped dates—yum!
– Susan and Jay Saltzman
Hi Cali! …if you’re not already tired of hearing again and again how amazing the food was last Sunday: The Food Was Amazing last Sunday!!! These are the photos I snapped before the wedding guests swarmed and devoured. I heard again and again “this is best food I’ve ever had.” We couldn’t stop talking about it, we still are, and shall do so for quite some time! Thank you again, and if you have any need for these photos (website, etc), help yourself!
–Yishai
Fri 5 Jun 2009
CALI BERGOLD
Chef Cali Bergold is a dynamic, energetic, upbeat and highly creative chef and restaurateur who loves to bring her passion for good food and good cooking to everyone “around the table.” She is a cook, an educator and a writer. Cali also works as a restaurant consultant helping new restaurants with concept development, branding, organization and startup logistics and design. From working as an executive chef at fine dining restaurants to managing large staffs and organizing and implementing catering events for 500+ guests, Cali’s experience is broad and detailed. She has a journalism degree and would provide excellent public relations assistance as well together with extensive experience in all aspects of the food service industry.
Chef Cali currently manages a personal chef/catering/culinary education business, chefcali.com, offering private chef services for clients in the west and northwest suburbs of Chicago including cooking classes and fun in-home cooking class parties, as well as catering and event planning services. Chef Cali can also be your private chef.
Articles and Accolades …
Chef Cali was featured in the February 23, 2005 “Good Eating” section of the Chicago Tribune, “Personal Touch – A Chef Brings Her Passion for Cooking Into Other People’s Kitchens” by Kenn Ruby
Voted “Top 10 Recipes of 2005” for Butternut Squash Soup by the Chicago Tribune “This recipe rose to the top of our list,” Carol Mighton Haddix, Chicago Tribune Food Editor
“Chef du Jour” in the Daily Herald, January 4, 2006 “Chef and Mom Barely Has Time to Catch Her Breath” by Laura Bianchi
Chef Cali featured in “Hiring a Personal Chef,” Chicago Home Magazine, Fall 2006
Tip Top Bistro featured in the Dining guide of the “At Play” section of the Chicago Tribune, December 1, 2005, “Woodstock’s Tip Top Taps Bistro Cuisine” by Patrice Jones
Received critically acclaimed review from Michael Sneed (Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. ‘97) “Vice President Al Gore, wife Tipper and Mayor Daley and Maggie went nuts over the specially prepared meal by Cali Bergold.”
Chef Cali Past Experiences …
Chef Cali is a 1990 Bradley University graduate with a degree in journalism. Cali also has a degree in Restaurant Management from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute in Chicago. She holds an Illinois Food Service Sanitation Manager certification (#01389902).
During the post-graduate years, Cali was the Assistant Editor and Food and Wine Critic for Today’s Chicago Woman (tcwmag.com), a free monthly publication with a distribution of 70,000+. Also during that time, she worked as a freelance writer for Travel My Way, a travel and leisure magazine that was a supplement to the New York Times. Cali continued to hone her writing skills while working as the Public Relations and Marketing Director at Chicago’s East Bank Club.
In 1995, after years of writing about food, talking to multitudes of chefs and circling the globe in search of the “perfect meal,” Cali made a career change and began to work in the restaurant industry – with her first position at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s private dining room.
In 1996, Chef Cali started up Cab’s Wine Bar and Bistro in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. As the Executive Chef, Chef Cali created the menu, selected purveyors and maintained high standards of culinary excellence.
After opening Cab’s Wine Bar and Bistro, Cali opened her own restaurant, Café V. As Owner and Executive Chef of Café V, Chef Cali quickly established herself and the Café as Chicago’s near south side’s little gem. Café V was an intimate space serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, Chef Cali opened a catering division of Café V which was met with rave reviews.
Wanting to share her love of food and excitement for learning, Chef Cali began teaching culinary classes at such establishments as Williams-Sonoma, Café V, Whole Foods, Flavour Cooking School, The Cooking School at Amelia’s in Crown Point, Indiana and The Chopping Block Cooking School in Chicago.
Also, during this time, Chef Cali created ChefCali (chefcali.com), a private chef service providing personal chef services, catering and in-home cooking classes and parties.
In 2005, Chef Cali and her innovative team, created Tip Top Bistro, located on the Square in Woodstock, Illinois, which was immediately received with acclaimed reviews. The cuisine was modern American with influences from the French, Spanish and Italian. The Bistro boasted a wine list with more than 50 wines by the glass and bottle. Cali worked in the kitchen, created the wine list, developed extensive marketing and PR campaigns, ran wine dinners, cooking classes and catering events – it was a small restaurant with a big heart and guests came from all over the region including Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Rockford and Barrington, Illinois.
In 2006, Cali continued to expand her professional experience by becoming a consultant and Executive Chef at the 200+ seat Courthouse Grill.
Personal …
Cali has traveled across the globe with culinary capers in New York, Los Angeles, Spain, England, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Jamaica, Austria, Bonaire and Canada. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, volunteering at her children’s school and cooking big family dinners. At the present, she is working on a program to promote local farmers and their products, compiling recipes and lesson plans for a children’s culinary program and continues to research and develop new restaurant and food concepts.
