Food is Love, Flavor is Vital in Healthy Cooking, Spice Matters

Food & Drink

My name is Joy Davis and I am a chef from the heart of Texas. I have always loved creating with food and especially feeding people the unexpected. I started cooking with my Grandmother when I was five and never stopped. I was fortunate to be surrounded by women who could cook well and taught me a lot about flavor, texture and timing in the kitchen. My culinary point of view stems around the philosophies that food is love and that healthy food nourishes the soul as well as the body. When I was 34, I went to culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, where honed my skills and learned how to create consistently good food under pressure. I directed my culinary passion as a private chef for nine years, where I created healthy weekly meals for busy professionals and seniors and produced extravagant wedding menus and special events working one-on-one with clients. I proceeded to work as a professional chef at exclusive fine dining establishments such as Citrus & La Gloria on the renowned San Antonio Riverwalk. I then moved from the upscale fine dining arena to the larger-scale resort arena to learn how to manage large, culinary events at the Lajitas Golf Resort in the Big Bend area. IN 2010, I had the honor of cooking for President George W. Bush and many dedicated veterans during the Wounded Warrior Project. I specialize in Mexican, Thai, American, Paleo, Vegan and Vegetarian cuisine and can cook nearly anything to order. I consider myself a flavor profiler, which means that diners should expect a flavor explosion from their first bite to their last. I want to create healthy, weekly meals for health-conscious professionals here in New Mexico to show that healthy food can not only taste good, but it can be good for them. My goal is to GIVE PEOPLE AN EXPERIENCE and MEMORY that they will never forget. I am innovative with people as with food, always pushing the envelope and not settling for the usual or expected. In order to support the community and give opportunities to high-risk youth*, I will choose several students to mentor from Central New Mexico Community College and the Street Food Institute. My mentorship/apprenticeship program will help provide real-life, working situations for students to learn and practice their preliminary skills as chefs-in-training. The long term goals as a private chef would be to attain a commercial kitchen with an office where I can work and cook on a larger scale to better service my clients, cook for more special events and conduct cooking classes. Target: Mid to high income busy professionals Clients with special diet or medical restrictions Realtor's who refer their vacation home clients to me for food Provide gourmet food to clients and events such as fashion shows, wrap parties, weddings etc... not a "caterer but a private chef."

I'd like to explore the following colors: Greens: Growth, harmony and success. Reds: Energy, action, passion and love. Yellows: Energy, intellect, fun and youth.