Acquerello Wine Cellar
Gresham’s family wanted a stable life for her. In school, she was interested in oceanography, social psychology, and the arts. However, when she started working in a cafeteria, she was as happy as a clam. Back then, women were not expected to work in professional kitchens. Her manager, however, insisted she should take this path. And that was the pivotal point that made her stop and think maybe she had a chance and maybe there was a glimmer of hope. She started at a restaurant with two chefs. One was a Jewish gentleman, who took her under his wing. The other was a German gentleman. Their fighting was hysterical to her. At the same time, they taught her how to be pragmatic and how to be intellectual. As a result, she was able to put both together to become a great chef. “Today's chef can't just cook. Today's chef really has to be aware of issues that are on the table
Chef Gresham’s grandmother came to the United States in 1906 (she went through Ellis Island, New York and travelled down to New Orleans), and Chef Gresham’s mother was born in San Francisco in 1919. Although staunchly proud to be Americans, they brought along the French tradition of treasuring great food. “(My mother) was growing vegetables, that's where she came from. She grew great vegetables, and we ate really well and I was a recipient of all that,” she says. “And I didn't realize that not everybody else knew that or had that foundation. We always thought (getting) fresh herbs is just going outside the kitchen door and picking some. Or tomatoes were in the backyard. Or we canned some apricots in the summertime.” Even though that mentality and philosophy runs in the family, she did not originally plan on working in the kitchen. Being immigrants, Chef
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