Chef Renée Kelly
Chef Renée Kelly Executive chef, owner

"You've made this a night to be treasured for a lifetime. God bless you and bring you much success in a career that brings such joy to so many!"
– Oleta Adams, popular soul and jazz singer

"Renée Kelly's castle setting says it all. She is the queen of cuisine. The food she prepared was some of the best ever paired with our wines."
– Molly Meeker, owner, The Meeker Vineyard, Sonoma, Calif.

The 29-year-old chef whose kitchen is in a castle is creating quite a stir in culinary circles. Chef Renée Kelly has cooked for some of the country’s greatest jazz musicians,has cooked with the countrys "superstar" chefs, invited to be a guest chef on a cruise honoring Auguste Escoffier, the father of modern cooking, and is writing her first cookbook, which she says, will change the way cookbooks are written.

Food and fortress, it seems, are pairing well for the Shawnee, Kan., native.

Approach
Every dish Chef Renée Kelly creates is prepared according to a strict code of culinary conduct. "I use only locally grown, farm-fresh foods, organic if possible," she says. "I never buy in bulk. Each ingredient is purchased for immediate use. And, I cook to please my guests' palettes, not my own."

Creative Process
For Chef Renée Kelly, cooking is sensory. "Seeing the colors and breathing in the aromas of fresh ingredients are all the inspiration I need," she says. "From there, I begin to visualize the combinations and construct the recipes."

Honors

• Invited and participated to the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival 2008 and 2009
• Invited and participated at the Houston, TX Wine & Food Festival at the Woodlands 2009
• Stage with “super star” chefs Ming Tsi, Jean Joho, Michel Richard, Cat Cora, Rick Tramonto, Michael Simon
• Voted top 20 in their 20’s entrepreneurship program Ingram’s Magazine
• Host of Michel Escoffier 2009
• Best Small Business Nomination 2009
• Best Outdoor Wedding Reception 2009 Luxe Awards   
• Invited by Michel Escoffier to be a guest chef on Silverseas American Institute of Wine & Food cruise honoring his grandfather, Auguste Escoffier, the father of modern cooking, January 2008
• Prepared and hosted a sold-out wine dinner spotlighting vintners Charlie and Molly Meeker, owners of The Meeker Vineyard in Sonoma, Calif., spring 2007
• Chef for jazz musicians, political leaders and top executives at Bayer and Sprint

 

Books

Chef Renée is writing three cookbooks. One of which is about based around a Cinq concept and food rotation. .

Education

• Culinary arts degree with honors, Art Institute of Houston, Texas, 2002
• Internship at the prestigious River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas
• Certified sous-chef, American Culinary Federation, 2007

 

Experience

• Entrepreneur, Owner and Executive Chef of Renée Kelly’s established in 2004
• Consultant, Tuck Box Jams and Jellies, Carmel, CA
• Chef Consultant, Saratoga Resort and Spa, Saratoga, WY
• Chef at Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival 2008, 2009
• Guest Chef at Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Silverseas Cruise celebrity guest chef with Michel Escoffier January 2008

• Stagé, The Sagamore, N.Y.
• Rounds cook, The BalsamsSM Grand Resort Hotel, Dixville Notch, N.H.
• Prep cook and garde manager, Sea Pines Resort®, N.C.
• Extensive regional wine tours of Europe and Napa Valley, Calif.
• Full-time classical French cuisine internship, River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas

 

Professional Affiliations

• Certified culmination, board member, American Culinary Federation
• Member of La Dames Des Escoffier
• Active board member, American Institute of Wine & Food

 

Volunteer Work

• Hosting a benefit dinner and educational cooking classes for Autism Speaks October 2009
• Participant and donor for Boulevard of Dreams benefiting the Love Fund for Children
• Healthy Kids Healthy Communities Project 2009

Activity: Teaching nutritional options for kids, demonstrating easy recipes for snacks and dinner and speaking about a healthy lifestyle in Kansas City Benefiting Don Boaco Center, LISK and PAL Center March 2009 continuing

• Judging for High School culinary competitions 2009
• Donor to Special Olympics
• Donor to Good Sheppard Catholic Church
• Donor to American Institute of Wine and Food
• Supports Meals on Wheels
• Taught Etiquette classes for the Girl Scouts of America
• Donor to the American Heart Association
• Chef Renée and staff adopt families through the holiday season

• Lakemary Center, since 2002

Activity: Donated food, dinners and items for auctions 

• Muscular Dystrophy Association, since 2004

Activity: Hosted a lockup; participate in lockups; donated food

• Sunflower House, A Child Abuse Prevention Center, 2006

Activity: Hosted an open house to kick off auction

 

Sought-after chef. Soon-to-be author. Smart business woman.

Chef Renée summons success with the wave of her whisk.