A few months ago I met a new friend, Heidi Couture, a personal chef who lives in Westminster. Although this is from her website at www.hautecouturecuisine.com, I could have said exactly the same things about her:

Heidi Couture is not your average Executive Chef. She earned her Master's Degree in Communication at the young age of 23 and then taught at the college level for nearly a decade.

Having traveled abroad extensively, Heidi eventually made a bold move and opened her own Bed and Breakfast in the United Kingdom where she met and cooked for people from all over the world. While living and traveling abroad Heidi furthered her interest in the Culinary Arts by exploring cultures through their food, and then incorporating those influences into her own food.

Once back in her Native New England, Heidi decided to officially enroll in a Culinary Arts Program. Her natural talent was then honed and crafted by many talented chefs and Heidi discovered her passion for French Classical Cuisine. Her approach to cooking is to cook with passion and present with polish. Heidi prefers multi-course 'small plate' meals where you can experience many different taste sensations, where flavors are allowed to build. She loves introducing people to new flavors, techniques and presentations.

When I first was introduced to the concept of this new local business, I was excited!

I contacted Heidi and surprised my husband with a picnic/hike and then wrote a story about it. Click to read that story, called Local Hiking Spots and a Fabulous Picnic Surprise

I was so impressed with the picnic (as was my husband) that I asked for a parents-night-out-at-home cooking lesson for my birthday. Chef Couture came to our house (actually our friends' house...our kitchen isn't big enough for five cooks) and wowwed us with culinary tips and techniques, and we had a great meal after our work was done. I'd absolutely recommend this fun and reasonably priced type of evening to our readers.

Soon Heidi began working with us to offer readers creative recipes that real people can actually find success with.

Recent recipes include Red Velvet Cupcakes, Antipasto Walkabouts, Mini Crab Cakes, Sweet and Spicy Skillet Corn and Summer Berry Pancotta. Just search the word recipe at the top of any page of Community Vine and the most recent ones are from Chef Couture. 

When Heidi suggested we do a Restaurant Rover series of stories in which she would write about the nuances of fine food and drink, entrees and desserts, my limited palate was very interested. If I wrote these Restaurant Rover stories, it’d be ‘steak and potatoes’, ‘steak and potatoes’, and so on. Heidi chooses from a much more daring and diverse range of foods.

We're excited to be working with Chef Heidi Couture. Vine readers will benefit from Heidi's sophisticated analysis of the merging of tastes and textures.

Stay tuned because Heidi's got a few more surprises in her chef's apron pocket...watch for her in different media and coming up soon we will also offer suggested wine pairings with her recipes!

Here are Restaurant Rover stories for your reading pleasure.

Restaurant Rover series

Ceres Bistro at The Beechwood Hotel in Worcester - Lush and Local

The Restaurant Rover: The People’s Kitchen and The Citizen Wine Bar – Simply Sublime

Restaurant Rover: Mezcal, a Niche addition to Leominster

Restaurant Rover: A Taste of Viet Nam – A different take on an Asian Meal

Restaurant Rover: Asiru