Jackie Apple

JACKIE RESCALVO APPLE, a graduate of the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course at Tante Marie's, spent her early childhood assisting her mom prepare Argentine specialties. By the age of twelve, she was baking and cooking on her own. During the last five years, she has been practicing her craft as a private cooking teacher developing weeknight family menus with an emphasis on quick techniques and fresh sustainable ingredients. She enjoys spending time in the kitchen with her students and encouraging them to try new techniques and ingredients. After taking, her classes student feel inspired to bake and cook to their best potential.

Jim Dodge

JIM DODGE is best known in the Bay Area as the former Pastry Chef of The Stamford Court Hotel. Since leaving there 10 years ago, he has been senior vice president of New England Culinary Institute; food and beverage manager of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and he is now returning to San Francisco to be the Director of the Specialty Culinary Programs of Bon Appetit Management Company. He is the author of BAKING WITH JIM DODGE, and THE AMERICAN BAKER (Simon & Schuster).

Gonzolo Gonzales

GONZOLO GONZALES is a fabulous cook and a great personality. He is a sous chef now at Nopalito (on Broderick between Fell and Oak). He has been a professional cook for the last 14 years and has worked at Kokhari, Boulevard, and Nopa. He will be teaching the food of his native Vera Cruz, where he grew his own vegetables. Welcome Gonzolo!

Bob Helstrom

BOB HELSTROM has 25 years experience in the restaurant business. After twelve years as executive chef of KULETO'S on Powell Street, he left to work as a corporate chef for Kimco. He returned two years ago to KULETO'S and is making all kinds of salumi from hogs. (See Tante Marie's December Newsletter for the kinds of preserved pork items you can eat at Kuleto's.) He not only loves hogs and what he can make with them, but he loves to share his knowledge.

Go to the Kuleto's Website

Margaret Hemley

MARGARET HEMLEY, a graduate of the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course at Tante Marie's, cooked for a year at INSALATA'S in San Anselmo. At the School, she has taught Basics, Entertaining, and cooking parties. She loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for food with her students.

MALCOLM JESSOP

MALCOLM JESSOP comes to San Francisco with over 30 years of experience in fine dining restaurants and hotels. A graduate of Westminster Culinary School, he completed a 4-year apprenticeship at London's Grosvenor House. It was in his two-year stay in France that he truly learned to appreciate cooking with the freshest seasonal ingredients from local farmers markets. He is moving here from Chicago with experience in food development, teaching cooking, and catering private events. He is a great addition to Tante Marie's.

Jen Knapp

JEN KNAPP worked at various Bay Area restaurants and in Ketchum's Food and Nutrition Marketing Group after graduating from the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course at Tante Marie's Cooking School. For the past several years, she has been a personal chef and a party class teacher. Her classes are very informative, and she enjoys sharing her love of cooking with others.

Jeff Koehler

JEFF KOEHLER'S writing, recipes and photographs have appeared in Saveur, Gourmet, Food & Wine, EatingWell, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, dwell, Men's Journal, Afar, and Tin House. He is the author and photographer of Rice Pasta Couscous: The Heart of the Mediterranean Kitchen and La Paella, named by the New York Times as a noteworthy 2006 cookbook. He contributed to Soup's On! and photographed Teresa Barrenechea's The Cuisines of Spain and Braiden Rex-Johnson's Pike Place Public Market Seafood Cookbook. A Seattle-area native, he has lived for most of the past fourteen years in Spain.

Go to Jeff's Website

Heidi Krahling

HEIDI KRAHLING trained at Tante Marie's after running her own restaurant in San Luis Obispo. From here she went on to cook at Square One, become the executive chef of Butler's in Mill Valley, and then of Smith Ranch in Marin County. Ten years ago she opened INSALATA'S in San Anselmo, which serves fabulous Mediterranean food in a warm, friendly atmosphere.

Go to the Insalata's Website

Jessica Lasky

JESSICA LASKY graduated from the Full-Time Culinary Course at Tante Marie's after being sous-chef at the Restaurant Enoteca in the East Bay. Specializing in Mediterranean cooking, she has been teaching at Tante Marie's for ten years. She has studied with Lydie Marshall in Provence, Anna Tasca Lanza in Sicily, and most recently in Turkey. She is a terrific cook and teacher—her students love her energy and enthusiasm.

Jodi Liano

JODI LIANO, a graduate from the Six-Months Full-Time Culinary Course of Tante Marie's, has worked in many aspects of the food business. She has spent time in the kitchens of THE FOOD NETWORK in New York City, on the line at Rose Pistola restaurant here in San Francisco and helped develop recipes for THE TANTE MARIE'S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK. She has written three cookbooks, New Flavors for Vegetables, Eggs, and Cooking from the Farmers' Market. Her true passion is teaching cooking, particularly classes relating to weeknight cooking and entertaining at home. Her focus in on making the kitchen an approachable and fun place for everyone.

Go to Jodi's Blog: Mmm...that's good!

Alice Medrich

ALICE MEDRICH founded COCOLAT in 1976, a world-famous store specializing in chocolates and desserts. Alice has been written up in many food magazines. Her cookbooks, COCOLAT, CHOCOLATE AND THE ART OF LOW-FAT DESSERTS, and BITTERSWEET were named cookbook of the year by the James Beard Foundation and received Awards from the IACP. Her most recent book is PURE DESSERTS (Artisan), which is a pure delight!

Carlo Middione

CARLO MIDDIONE was the well-known Chef/Owner of VIVANDE PORTA VIA on Fillmore Street for 24 years. He has taught at the California Culinary Academy, done television series on Italian cooking, and written several books. Everyone at Tante Marie's loves his classes.

Christa Resing

CHRISTA RESING is the former producer of KRON-TV's Bay Cafe cooking show. Her love of food led her to Tante Marie's Cooking School, where she graduated recently from the Full-Time Six-Month Culinary Course. Christa has worked for several Bay Area catering companies, notably Insalata's in San Anselmo. She has also run her own catering and personal chef business. Christa's friendly, encouraging teaching style makes even novices feel like "top chefs."

Go to Christa's Website: Marin Cooking
Go to Christa's Blog: bake at 375

Mary Risley

MARY RISLEY started Tante Marie's Cooking School as a full-time School 30 years ago. In 1997, she was honored "The Cooking Teacher of the Year" by BON APPETIT magazine. In 1998, she was awarded "Humanitarian of the Year" by the James Beard Foundation, for her efforts to help alleviate hunger in San Francisco, through the volunteer organization she directs called Food Runners. In 2008 she received the Jefferson Award in San Francisco for Food Runners. She is the author of THE TANTE MARIE'S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK published by Simon & Schuster in 2003.

Tori Ritchie

TORI RITCHIE graduated from Tante Marie's Cooking School and has taught cooking and food writing classes at the School for many years. She spent 20 years as a cookbook author and editor, was the food editor of SAN FRANCISCO MAGAZINE, and is a frequent contributor to BON APPETIT. Tori hosts the Five-Minute Cooking School on THE CBS EARLY SHOW and was host of Ultimate Kitchens on the FOOD NETWORK. Her latest cookbook is BRAISING AND STEWING; Everyday Slow-Cooked Recipes (Chronicle 2006).

Go to Tori's Website

Joe Schuver

JOE SCHUVER is great! He is a self-taught baker who for 10 years ran a wholesale baking business before opening Destination Baking Co. in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco. He makes fabulous pastries and breakfast breads. We are looking forward to his baking classes at Tante Marie's.

Thy Tran

THY TRAN makes a happy living do all the things she loves most: teaching, writing, cooking, traveling, eating and listening to stories. She has 15 years of food industry experience across a wide array of disciplines, from restaurants and test kitchens to cookbooks and food magazines. She is currently a freelance food writer specializing in the history and culture of food. Trained as a professional chef, she established Wandering Spoon in San Francisco to provided cooking classes, culinary consultation and educational programming. Thy is also the founder and director of the Asian Culinary Forum, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about Asian food around the world.

Go to the Wandering Spoon Website
Go to the Asian Culinary Forum Website

Frances Wilson

FRANCES WILSON has 20 years of experience both as a chef and a teacher. She was educated in her native Ireland to be a home economics teacher, was the chef of LALIME'S in Berkeley for 10 years, and has been a private chef and teacher at a chateau in the south of France for the last five years. She is takes full responsibility for the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course and gives the demonstrations on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons unless otherwise noted.

Watch Frances' Video: Cutting Up Chicken

Tom Worthington

TOM WORTHINGTON graduated from the culinary program at City College over 20 years ago. He is the partner with Paul Johnson of the MONTEREY FISH CO., which for 30 years has been the best purveyor of fresh fish and seafood to the Bay Area's best restaurants. He is a great teacher!