Radical change adds spice to life of cooking teacher

By Libby James
Correspondent

After 18 years as a successful Realtor, Linda Hoffman quit. She wasn't angry. She wasn't miserable. The market wasn't down. She wasn't motivated by money.

She embarked on a radical career change because of a strong need to add depth and meaning to her life.

After several years of juggling the care of her sick husband and her job, Hoffman awoke one morning with a serious health problem of her own. A bleeding tumor sent her to the hospital and required surgery. Her husband entered a nursing home, and Hoffman's daughter, Krista, did her best to care for her mother as she recovered, juggling her own job, household and two young children.

Hoffman's physical health returned, but after her husband's death in September 1999, she found herself in a dark place emotionally. "People tell you to wait a year before you make a major decision," Hoffman said. "They're right. I knew I wasn't myself. I knew I had to shake up my world, but I also knew enough not to do it too quickly."

That's why, when a catalog from the Culinary School of the Rockies describing a professional cooking course arrived in the mail, Hoffman did little more than look longingly at it. "In a year, I told myself, if that catalog shows up again, I'm going," she said.

Hoffman had always been interested in food and cooking and took pleasure in feeding her family. She'd taken some home-cooking classes at the school, and cooking continued to intrigue her.

She spent a year rediscovering herself. She returned to home territory in Ohio to touch base with old friends, which she found helpful. She concluded that life is short, that the unexpected often happens, and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing something meaningful that she loved.

In October 2000, the cooking school catalog showed up in her mail again, and the die was cast. The 56-year-old Hoffman interviewed for a spot in the class and felt fortunate that enrollment was small, otherwise she believes she would not have been accepted. "They worried that I wouldn't follow through and become a working chef," she said.

Despite long days and an hour-and-a-half commute to Boulder five days a week, Hoffman thrived. "I felt I'd stepped back into life," she said. "My world went from black and white to Technicolor."

Included in the tuition for the cooking school was a month of training in France, which for Hoffman became a period of intense learning.

"Europeans view food differently from the way we do," she said. "They have small kitchens and small appliances. They walk everywhere, and they don't stockpile food. Instead they buy small quantities, eat food that is in season, and seldom use prepared foods. They shop at local markets, often outdoors. Their respect for food and the land in which it grows results in careful handling and a commitment to attractive arrangement. Meals are times for more than just eating. They are social occasions when the family gets together to check in with each other."

In France, Hoffman learned the concept of "terroir" which translates as "the earth" and reflects the diversity of soil and growing conditions that make foods unique to certain areas. Americans are familiar with this concept as it applies to wines, but don't realize that these differences apply to food as well. Hoffman offers as an example a special blue-green Puy lentil.

After her training, Hoffman hoped to get practical experience as a chef in a fine restaurant but found her age a barrier. Undaunted, she placed an ad in the paper offering her services as a "private chef," and within two weeks she was busy making dinners for six families in their homes. Coming up with a variety of menus and making sure the food could be easily frozen and reheated was a challenge she enjoyed.

When people began asking her advice, the teaching segment of her business evolved. "I'd always wanted to teach, and I fell into it naturally," she said.

She conducts classes in her kitchen at 725 E. Mulberry St., limiting enrollment to six. Popular classes teach ways to cook fish, basic Asian cooking, how to stock a pantry to make a meal on the spot, "fast and fabulous, four quick dinners" and "quick chicks."

During the summer, she teaches grilling techniques.

She also conducts several classes each year for the Fort Collins Employee Wellness Program. In large groups, she demonstrates techniques and makes sure each participant gets to taste the final products.

After more than four years in the business, Hoffman gets most of her business via word of mouth. She also has an informative web site, www.combebacktothetable.com.

Once, long ago, Hoffman majored in sociology and anticipated a career researching human behavior. As chef, teacher and advocate for thoughtful, healthy eating, in a roundabout way, she is close to her original intention.

"People are so rushed that their lives feel empty," she said.

Her years in real estate often made her feel rushed and stressful. She loves showing people that they don't have to open a can or consume processed food filled with harmful sugars and preservatives even if their cooking time is limited. She wants them to know that children can't thrive on fast food, and that by taking the time and making the effort to eat well, people can make a statement about their self-worth and the worth of their families.

"We've sacrificed too much for convenience," she said. It's time to come back to the table.