About Meet Me In Your Kitchen
After years of experience in various professional kitchens, gathering recipes from around the world, and connecting with all manner of home cooks, Meet Me In Your Kitchen is the creative brainchild of Chef Lindsay Ray as a way to be in all of your kitchens with you, providing guidance, sharing expertise, and offering inspiration in the form of great food.
Meet Chef Lindsay Ray
Today I am a passport-toting, cheese-loving, cookbook-collecting, empire-building, passionate and curious soul, who shows my love through food. But this journey for me started in middle school, when I uncovered my love for digging into processes, especially in the kitchen. I knew even way back then I wanted to work in food somehow and never let that go, but my parents didn’t quite follow, so I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism (after the math courses in business management sunk my battleship). However, as soon as I got my diploma, I proudly placed it on my parents’ mantle (where it still resides) and entered into culinary school, fueled by my passion and my grandmother’s belief in me. I started out learning baking and pastry, with the end goal of being a pastry chef, but my advisor opened my eyes to the possibilities if I also learned the savory side of the kitchen, so earned an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts and a certificate in culinary arts.
Over the years I’ve worked in bakeries, hotels, restaurants, country clubs, catering and test kitchens, and on a cruise ship, learning, gleaning all the knowledge I could hold, honing my skills, and being open to every facet of this industry I could. Partway down this path, I grew weary of the long hours and low pay of traditional kitchens and looked for different directions, still working in food, but in a more healthy and sustainable way. This is when I discovered my second love—teaching and sharing with home cooks. At this time, I also began to lean on my first degree and got into recipe development and writing. After working in all kinds of kitchens, travelling the world, and coming full circle (with much more still to do) I’m back in my hometown of Dallas, Texas and it is now my pleasure to bring all this experience, perspective, and adventure into your kitchen.
When not in my (or your) kitchen, you can find me engrossed in a memoir or in the cookbook section of any bookstore, hear me laughing loudly at corny jokes (I love them!), trying new foods at festivals with friends, in a class on a quest to learn something new, or spending time with my sister feeding ducks.
Get to Know Me Even More
First memorable cooking experience? Making donut muffins with my older sister and mom. They were better than regular muffins because after they came out of the oven, we dipped them in melted butter, then coated them in cinnamon sugar. Mmm, I can still taste them!
First pet? My parents were not into animals, so I had a favorite stuffed animal I took EVERYWHERE for YEARS, and to this day my family cannot agree on what kind of animal he was—dog, mouse, kangaroo? He was white with floppy ears, red paws, and noodle-y arms, but he was my dog and his name was Spek.
Favorite kitchen tool? I have two—a sharp chef’s knife (ask me about my favorites) and my mini offset spatula. There’s nothing I can’t do with these in my arsenal.
Savory or sweet? Since I started out in pastry, most would expect me to say sweet, but it’s actually savory. When I worked in bakeries and pastry kitchens, I would keep Cheez-Its in my glove compartment for after-work snacking. If you’re ever my passenger, you might still find a small bag hidden there.
Something still on my bucket list? To travel to all seven continents. I’ve got lots of countries checked off, but many miles to go before I sleep!
Now I’d love to here more about you! Follow me on Instagram and share your story and what you’d like to learn how to cook next.
