Who is The Zen Chef?

My name is Kyle Taylor (aka The Zen Chef). I am a professional Chef with over 25 years experience in various kitchens and cuisines. I am forever a student and enjoy creating new dishes that combine various techniques, while maintaining fresh natural flavors from each ingredient. Cooking has been a passion of mine from a very early age. My mother’s favorite story to tell is my early experience trying to make breakfast when I was still in diapers. I had told my mother and brother at the age of 12 years old that I was going to be a cook. They both laughed and brushed this off because I was an adamant athlete at the time, playing every sport that I was able to try, including hockey, like any good prairie boy did back then. Oh yeah, I’m Saskatchewan born and raised, something I took for granted as a child but so appreciate as an adult. I lived the lifestyle our current food trend in the Okanagan aspires to be, farm to table, local, organic. We had an acreage half full of garden space and there was nothing better than pulling carrots out of the ground, wiping “some” of the dirt off in fresh rain soaked lawn and then devouring the most nutrient rich vegetable I have ever tasted, even still to this day after 20+ years in the food industry.  Back to who I am today...

Through my life’s journey so far I have lived and learned a number of things, foremost being that shit happens and will continue to do so, what matters is how you deal with it. This applies in professional kitchens and home kitchens alike. Bringing a “Zen” approach to situations is a philosophy that I have aquired from my yoga and meditation practice, and serves me well in the kitchen at all times. Learning a calm prepared way of doing things helps one move through the “shit” that happens or may happen, allowing one  to make delicious mouth watering food that nourishes the mind, body, and soul. This is my mission and goal to bring into your life, with each and every culinary experience.