Le Cordon Bleu London alumna Eden Grinshpan is a chef, restaurateur, TV presenter, blogger, vlogger and soon-to-be author. The Canadian took some time out of her busy schedule which includes balancing motherhood with her Executive Chef position at her New York restaurant DEZ, to speak to us.
Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2006, Eden has developed her training further across a variety of roles, re-opening a run-down café in an Indian orphanage and hosting Top Chef Canada, as well as her own TV show in NYC: 'Eden Eats'.
Cooking was always a passion for Eden, cooking and baking for her family from a her early teens and culinary school was the natural next step.
"I was a bit of a trouble maker in high school and really did not want to go to university and my parents had the great idea of going to culinary school to persue my passion. I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu right after high school, so I was really young with no professional experience to start with."
After completing the prestigious Grand Diplôme in London, Eden spent time in India, Israel and plenty of places in between, before settling in New York where she secured her first cooking show on the Cooking Channel. Going on to host another two shows of her own, she is also host of Top Chef Canada - all of which has added to her experience which drives her business on.
"I take my inspiration from wherever I can, be it my travels, my peers, my family; everyone around me inspire me to push myself further. This drives my passion of bringing people together through food, feeding people."
Eden's latest project is the fast-casual Middle Eastern restaurant DEZ that she co-founded with her business partner Samantha Wasser of 'by CHLOE' success. Located in New York's Manhattan, DEZ - short for desert - draws on Eden's culinary experience training at Le Cordon Bleu London and her time in Israel, serving up vegetarian mezes, salads, bowls and pita sandwiches.
"Le Cordon Bleu taught me how to cook. After learning all the fundamental skills I was able to apply it to all the different cuisines I was interested in learning."
Running a restaurant isn't without its challenges though and work-life balance can be especially difficult, particularly with being mother to a young daughter.
"Balance is the most challenging aspect of my job. I am trying really hard to have it all and a family life. Ensuring that I make time for my husband and daughter is the most important thing to me. Each day is different; right now I am at DEZ every day. I get in at around 10, try all the food, work expo during lunch (our busiest time), [with] emails and meetings in the afternoons."
Despite already achieving so much and the challenges of work-life balancing, Eden isn't stopping just yet. With her restaurant up and running, she now has a cookbook in the pipeline as well as keeping active on her blog and social media channels.
"I wear so many hats. I am a television host and I am currently hosting Top Chef Canada, I am the co-founder and executive chef at DEZ a fast-casual Middle Eastern restaurant in Manhattan. I just signed a book deal and will have my first cookbook published fall 2020 and have an online social presence with my blog and Instagram called EdenEats, where people follow along on my journey to motherhood and opening a restaurant."
What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
"Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. We all have to pay our dues. Scrubbing kitchen floors, walls, working long hours on your feet. If you keep pushing yourself there is nowhere to go but up. Success doesn’t happen overnight, so just keep on believing, pushing and following your dreams, take those risks. When you push yourself to do things that scare you, you end up getting so much more out of it than you thought you could."
Whats next for you?
"My plans for the future are to just keep on doing what I’m doing. Building my brand and working on projects that I love."
In short, what does Le Cordon Bleu represent for you?
New Beginnings
You can find out more information regarding the Grand Diplôme which Eden Grinshpan studied in our programmes section.
