The Everglades Club’s Pastry Chef would like to see more club and resort chefs achieve balance between work and home life.
Before becoming Pastry Chef of the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Fla., Matthew Ratliff, WCMPC, CMB, worked with a number of master pastry chefs over the course of his career, including Gunther Heiland and Chris Northmore. He has competed and ranked in national pastry competitions and achieved two master designations, including Worldchefs Certified Master Pastry Chef and Certified Master Baker.
- My favorite kitchen hack is using a drill to zest a case of oranges.
- My last meal would be sushi.
- My favorite junk food is Cheddar Chex Mix.
- You’ll never see a banquet menu at my club, because we customize everything for all of our parties.
- The most ridiculous request I’ve ever had was when a member asked me to remove all fat, gluten, sugar and dairy out of a dessert.
- My worst culinary creation was a shelf-stable product from an R&D job. It was a cupcake with shortening for the icing.
- One of my most memorable meals was a can of beef stew after a two-week mountain hiking trip. (We ate a lot of powdered food during the trip, so the stew was a significant step up.)
- The most important thing in my kitchen is the production list. It rules all.
- My go-to drinks are water and coffee.
- During the quarantine, I’ve made sure to have these five foods with me: homemade bread, fresh vegetables, caramel corn, avocados, and chicken.
- If I could change one thing about my club it would be the location, but for only two weeks a year. It’s been 14 years since I have seen a snowy winter.
- If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to work in a think tank or applied mathematics.
- I want to learn more about canning because I want to preserve fruits at their peak flavor.
- My favorite ingredient is flour and it’s the most undervalued ingredient, too. I detest additives, and I can’t live without chocolate.
- My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was showing up late to work on Christmas day. I woke up late and everyone was in the weeds.
- My dream vacation would be to the Redwood forest.
- You’d be surprised to learn that I am pretty low-key outside of the kitchen.
- If I could trade places with one chef it would be Danny Meyer.
- I knew I wanted to be a chef when I realized I wouldn’t have to sit in an office my whole life and I could still do something challenging.
- I love being a club chef because you get to know the members’ tastes, which lets me offer even better items and services.
- When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m playing with my kids.
- My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was not looking for the best place to learn.
- If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Leonardo da Vinci.
- The most valuable piece of advice I’ve ever received was invest now for your future.