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 27-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, was 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 by Michel Escoffier to be a guest chef on an 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 Kelly is writing three cookbooks. One of which is about entertaining for the culinary time-crunched. It will be a fast-read, featuring grocery lists, timelines, scannable instructions and pages of luscious step-by-step photos.

Education
> Culinary arts degree with honors, Art Institute of Houston, Texas, 2002
>Certified sous-chef, American Culinary Federation, 2007

Experience
>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 culinarian, member, American Culinary Federation >Active member, American Institute of Wine & Food

Volunteer Work
> 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
> Special Olympics, since 2005 Activity: Volunteered for 2007 Kansas event; donated items for auction
> 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 Kelly summons success with the wave of her whisk.