Kraft on Craft—Dean Mitchell, C.C.C., C.P.C., Takes the Kraft Challenge

A caterer and personal chef finds inspiration with Kraft.

Dean Mitchell is a busy, busy man. He runs Saffron, a catering and personal-chef services company in Calgary, Alberta. He caters functions that range from casual to corporate and from intimate to very large. Twice a week, he cooks at an eldercare facility, feeding up to 60 people favourites like barbecue beef on a bun and chicken Caesar salad. He also prepares meals for a gourmet home-delivery service, where dishes range from lemon-lentil soup to roasted Tuscan chicken.

Chef Mitchell, a certified chef de cuisine and a member of the Canadian Culinary Federation, is a jack of all culinary trades. Before launching Saffron in 2000, he worked as a banquet chef at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede and as an executive at a high-end country club. Pulling from that background, a focus on quality underpins his business practices today. But his pain points as a caterer are at least as acute as those of a restaurant operator: consistency, holding capability and labour costs all factor heavily into his menu development.

Chef Mitchell had those factors in mind when he developed his popular Asiago Caesar Potato Salad, but he also placed flavour and menu distinction keenly in the crosshairs. "It's such an easy dish to pull together, and satisfies a number of different menus," he says. He peels, halves and cooks Yukon Gold potatoes, then cools them. And then he simply combines them with Pure Kraft Refrigerated Asiago Caesar Dressing, radish, scallion and orange bell pepper. "I like the homemade profile of the dressing. It's got a wonderful, rich, round flavour that's not overly garlicky," says Chef Mitchell. "It also holds really well, which is key for catered food." He serves the Asiago Caesar Potato Salad as a cold side dish and buffet item, of course, but will sometimes top a tray of it with Kraft Shredded Parmesan Cheese, then bake until beautifully browned. "It's stable enough for heating, which adds to its versatility," he says.

Even more inspiration from Pure Kraft Refrigerated Asiago Caesar Dressing

• Stuffed Baked Potato

  "It's delicious, and gives diners a dish that's more exciting than a baked potato with sour cream."

  Chef Mitchell bakes a potato, hollows it out, then mashes the scooped-out potato, mixing it with the dressing and a little salt and pepper. Once combined, he pipes it back into the potato skin and bakes it.

• Seasonal Vegetable Caesar Salad

  "This is a nice twist on the ever-popular Caesar Salad."

  He combines romaine lettuce with grilled or roasted seasonal vegetables, then tosses the salad with the dressing.

BBQ inspiration with Kraft

Chef Mitchell turns to Kraft for BBQ menu solutions.

• Barbecue Beef on a Bun

  "It's one of my most popular dishes and so easy to put together."

  He par roasts beef to medium rare, chills, then slice it. He tosses it in Bull's-Eye Bold Original Barbecue Sauce and portions it into 4-ounce mounds on an insert pan. He tops it with more barbecue sauce, wraps in plastic, then aluminum foil. He slowly heats the beef, then serves it on buns.

• Barbecue Baked Beans

  "This is an easy plus-one that always pleases the crowds."

  He adds Bull's-Eye Bold Original Barbecue Sauce to baked beans for a popular side dish. He serves it at senior-facility functions, catered picnic events and on corporate-lunch menus.

Here are a few highlights from our interview with Chef Mitchell:

KRAFT:	If you were sent to a desert island, what three ingredients would you take with you?
MITCHELL:	Milk, cheese and eggs.
KRAFT:	What's the most popular dish you've ever made for a catering event?
MITCHELL:	Vegetable lasagna for summer school programs.
KRAFT:	Who would you most like to cook for?
MITCHELL:	I would love to cook with Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. They really inspire me, and I think we could have a lot of fun together.
KRAFT:	What's the biggest trend in catering right now?
MITCHELL:	People demand fresh, flavourful food, and they want value for their money—that's the biggest trend I'm seeing.
KRAFT:	What are your favourite Kraft products?
MITCHELL:	Apart from the Asiago Caesar? I use Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce and Miracle Whip in a lot of my recipes. Both have great flavour profiles and are really stable, which is crucial for catered dishes.