Chef Tamica Lipscomb

**Currently in the process of resettling from Alaska to St. Paul. I'll be available beginning April 5, 2024**

Ever since I was 11, I wanted to be a chef or a novelist. I decided to study American Literature and Sociocultural Anthropology in college, but after graduation I ended up pursuing my dream of becoming a kitchen professional.

I love food! Nothing brings me more joy than feeding people something that makes them close their eyes and forget about everything else for a moment. Food is sustenance, but it's also an experience. From comfort food to "cuisine", delicious nutrition is key! After years in Alaska, I consider my specialized style of cooking Wild Fusion: I like to take cosmopolitan techniques and apply them to native found foods, and vice versa, take cosmopolitan ingredients and use native techniques. Sharing cultures and flavors makes life delicious!

I started in the restaurant business over 21 years ago...as a backwait at a haute cuisine wine cellar bistro. I moved up to server, then bartender. After a couple years there, I moved on and began serving at a waterfront fine dining establishment. One night, the pantry cook walked out. I volunteered to jump in. From that night forward, I stayed in the kitchen. I moved from pantry to the line, where I became the grill person: steaks, seafood, burgers, and chops. I stayed there for several years. I moved onto a very popular local Italian restaurant that served gourmet pizza and authentic Italian dishes, where I was responsible for making The Marinara, as well as The Lasagna. I worked the line, making pizzas, pasta dishes, and various antipasto. I stayed there for a few years.

I worked at a few different BBQ joints over a couple of years to get a feel for several techniques, but those restaurants can be incredibly boring to work at.

I moved to a very rural area and became a chef at the local riverfront Lodge. By chef, I mean besides working the line and doing anything else the kitchen needed, I became responsible for planning daily specials, creating new menu items, inventory/ordering, and supervision of the small kitchen crew. We were a steakhouse/pub located 120 miles from the nearest city & served as a busy community gathering place. I helped them significantly cut down on food waste & streamlined their kitchen process. I worked there for three years, until a local teen burned the place to the ground after he committed burglary. After this, I went to work for an army post, at their Bar/Restaurant (pizza & burgers) in the CAC. There, I created the new menu & recipes for their rebrand. I also offered several cooking workshops focusing on Soups/Stews. I worked there for my year contract, then moved onto to a better opportunity.

That better opportunity was as a private chef for a gold mining family in Alaska's Forty Mile region. They were a Canadian-New Zealand family who did not use overly processed food in their diets. There were 6-10 people to feed, three meals and snacks every day from May 15-Oct1. I prepared all breads and baked goods, in house. Everything from stocks to jams to jerky was homemade. They were fed meals like: Milk Roasted Chicken, Moose Pot Roast, Mustard Crusted Pork Steaks, Fire roasted Salmon, Thai Green Curry, Pizza, Pierogies, Burgers, Kebobs, Meatloaf, and much more--not your typical mine food, for sure! I prepared suppers outside on the grill several nights a week, bc a good fire-sear just makes things better. They often had guests from all over the world, so I strove hard to make my bosses proud to offer their visitors a meal. I was in charge of all menu planning, inventory, shopping, and every aspect of the kitchen 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3½ months. I helped the owner's manage the garden, as well as harvesting fresh vegetables & herbs daily. In the late summer, I spent a couple hours each day foraging for wild berries to use in preserves, sauces, smoothies, and desserts. I spent four summers with them. When 2020 came around, they stopped operating in the US.

Here and there, I worked as an invited guest chef for special events at local Alaskan venues. I spent several sessions working as a chef for women's yoga retreats in a remote ski lodge, where I was responsible for planning the menus based on the themes of each session: Ayurvedic Eating, Wild Foods, and Digestive Health. I spent several weeks assisting with the season opening of a fly-in fishing resort (12 weekly guests & 6 employees) where I was responsible for all menu planning (breakfast, lunch in the field, appetizers, main course, desserts, snacks), recipes, preparation, clean-up, inventory, and shopping 7 days a week, 18 hours a day. I would have stayed a full season, but I had a commitment to my other job.

Just recently, I took a 5 day meatcutting course through co-operative extension, bc I prefer cutting my own steaks and roasts. One of my favorite cuts is overlooked by the rest of the world, and I just couldn't stand for that. For the curious, it's a Pork Steak, which is cut from a shoulder. It's one of the juiciest, most flavorful things you'll ever put in your mouth & most people never get a chance to try it.

For the past several years, I have been creating hand-made specialty chocolates and baked goods for people in several states.