Chef's Corner
Heidi Insalata Krahling
One of Marin's Well-Seasoned Chefs
by leslie harlib
Heidi prepares "Asparagus with Manchego Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto Gremolata" in the kitchen at Insalata's. This recipe appears in Heidi's 2009
cookbook and she has graciously shared it with us here – see next page.
I
t's not only farmers who are in tune with the seasons. The best
root vegetables which are terrific—there's still plenty out there," she
chefs are as attracted to and influenced by what's seasonal
continues. "You learn to work with what's best and what's local until
as much as any dedicated practitioner of organic, sustainable
it's not available. And then you change the dishes on your menu to
farming.
work with what is available. I do this all the time."
Heidi Insalata Krahling, one of Marin's most successful chef/
But it's not as simple as changing the dishes to take advantage
restaurateurs and a culinary professional for more than 35 years,
of what's freshest. Krahling and her team of sous chefs must
finds that cooking with locally grown, organic produce that defines
juggle a dizzying array of decisions: everything from production
each time of the year, is one aspect of her business that she loves
(is it made on a daily basis), if it's part of a multi-course meal, do
most.
the components balance, is there room for all the cooks to work
"All the seasons excite me because they come and go," she
explains. "So when foods you love are available, such as avocados,
or cherry tomatoes, or asparagus, berries, melons, corn, beans,
peppers, it's wacky. You revel in the abundance and the surprises."
As chef/owner of Insalata's in San Anselmo, which she founded
smoothly on the line with a multitude of ingredients, to name
a few issues.
"To change your menu, to cook seasonally, to run a restaurant,
you have to keep that macro-micro focus going," Krahling explains.
"It's about the bigger picture of where and how the restaurant
17 years ago and as co-owner of Marinitas in San Anselmo since
as a whole is running smoothly. And it's about what it takes to
2009, Krahling has made it a mission to provide the widest range of
actually put the dishes together so the culinary creativity and the
experiences for her guests, "without junk," as she puts it.
infrastructure of the restaurant work together as a system."
"Even in January, there are Asian pears, and fresh chard, kales,
40
FLOURISH • SUMMER 2013
The payoff to all the worry, the long hours, the countless trips
