Finding a way to balance love of the kitchen with family

While his friends worked the front of the house at the local pizza joint in Ontario, Calif., Brian Clark preferred to be in the kitchen where the action was.

"I knew from that early age that I belonged in the kitchen," Clark says. "I had friends who were waiters, bus boys and delivery drivers and took home pockets full of tip money at the end of the night, but none of that could compare to the fast pace, intense work and sense of accomplishment that the kitchen offered."

Clark hasn't grown tired of the kitchen but said goodbye to long hours of the restaurant world to look for something more conducive to family life. He found that balance at The Pampered Chef in Addison.

Today, he oversees the test kitchens at kitchen products manufacturer where he creates recipes that utilize the company's products and for the company's cookbooks.

He lives in Plainfield with his wife, Suzanne, and daughters Goldie Jean, 3, and Zoe Lynn, 2.

What is your earliest food memory?

My mother worked full time Monday through Friday, so on the weekends we would spend a lot of our time in the kitchen. My earliest memory is looking through cookbooks on Friday nights trying to decide what I wanted to cook with my mom on the weekends.

Who inspired you to be a chef?

My family. Without the support and encouragement of my family, I would never have had the courage to enroll in culinary school. I was 21 and I had a great-paying job that I did not enjoy. If my mother had not encouraged me to do what made me happy, I might still be working at the phone company. In my first job after culinary school, I only made $9 an hour but I could not imagine anything better.

What brought you to The Pampered Chef?

After I was married and planning a family, I realized the restaurant lifestyle was not conducive to a good family life. I wanted family meal times at home and to be with my children for evenings, holidays and weekends. I started looking for other options, and what attracted me to The Pampered Chef was a better work/life balance and the opportunity to still be in the kitchen doing what I love.

What drives me today is knowing that I am making recipes for our consultants to demonstrate so they can have a business that offers a great work/life balance and a meaningful earning opportunity. I also love creating recipes for our customers that will bring their families together for meal times.

What is your role at The Pampered Chef?

Most of my work revolves around recipe development for cookbooks and how to use and care for our products. I also support photography and video projects as a food stylist.

What is the best part of your job? The most challenging?

The best part of my job is the variety. My projects change every season so I could be working on main dishes one season ("29 Minutes to Dinner Vol. 2") then working on an appetizer collection ("Easy & Impressive Appetizers") the next season.

I think the most challenging part of my job is constantly generating new and interesting recipes.

You're also a consultant. What do you learn from customers?

All test kitchen staff are also Pampered Chef consultants and we conduct cooking shows to better understand the customers and consultants. I love to do cooking shows, because they allow me to interact directly with our customers to see how they are using our recipes and products at home, and what they would like to see in the future. It also helps me to better understand consultant needs as I create recipes for demonstration at cooking shows.

The consultants are the ones demonstrating recipes and using products at cooking shows everyday, so they come up with some great ideas. We try to incorporate feedback from consultants and customers to improve our products and recipes.

What is your favorite piece?

I have several, of course. The Mix 'N Chop and Weekday Dinners Done! recipe card collection are two of them. My all-time favorite is the Deep Covered Baker. The consultants call it the "magic pot" because it is so versatile. You would not believe the great meals you can make in the microwave when you use this baker. It can bake, roast, cook pasta and be used for casseroles. It's got a 121/2 cup capacity and it has an attractive glaze finish so you can take it right to the dinner table.

Any advice for home cooks as they approach the holiday entertaining season?

Keep it simple! I don't think that the holidays are a time for experimentation. If you stick with foods and recipes that you are familiar with, you will plan and execute your parties/dinners with confidence. If you do want to make something new, find time for a trial run before attempting it for a holiday dinner/party.

What do you do in your free time?

When the weather is nice, you can find me in my garden. When the weather is not so nice, you can find me in my basement making my own wine. I started with the wine kits available online, but now my wine is made from fruit, herbs and vegetables from local farmers and growers.

I make wine for drinking, but I also make wines for cooking, such as garlic, onion and jalapeno wines.

What was the last meal you cooked at home?

I actually make dinner at home every night. I cook and prep on the weekend so I have all my meals planned. For example, on Saturday I cooked a corned beef in my Deep Covered Baker, braised a pork shoulder in the oven and used a pressure cooker to cook pinto beans. It sounds like a lot of work but none of it required me to be in the kitchen watching it.

So then, last week's dinner menu included corned beef with potatoes and cabbage, shredded pork tacos with beans and rice, corn beef sandwiches and bean, rice and cheese mini burritos with a salad.

Tell us about this recipe. Pesto Cheese Pastries.

This recipe takes a classic sweet pastry and gives it a savory twist. A sheet of puff pastry is spread with a creamy pesto mixture and topped with thinly sliced ham. The pastry is folded in to the classic palmier shape, sliced and baked.

One of my favorite things with this recipe, and all the recipes in the new "Easy & Impressive Appetizers" book, is that the appetizers can be prepared ahead of time so you can get out of the kitchen and spend the time with friends and family. This recipe can be prepared and then frozen and baked at your convenience.

• To recommend a chef to be profiled, write to food@dailyherald.com.

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