Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Allesmith.
Anthony, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I think I’ve been aiming for this path longer than I care to admit. The very first dinner party I threw was when I was 13 years old. Flipping through my moms clipped out recipe binders I found an assortment of recipes that I wanted to create. Invited my family over and was able to walk them through Taco Canapes and Fireman’s Stuffed Meatloaf.
Even earlier than that I was trying to write my first cook book. I was 8 years old and experimenting in the kitchen and my FAVORITE sandwich to make was a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with a Slice of Ham. My mom thought it was the grossest thing, but I wrote it down with a few other recipes like “Warmed Milk with Creamer” (a treat I served to all the kids I played with) and “Runt’s Lemonade.” It was much later that I found out that little 8 year old me had accidentally created the children’s version of Elvis Sandwich. A peanut butter and banana, bacon, deep fried sandwich.
Though I left my desire for food in my younger years I found it again when I got to college and my dad passed away. I took a year off school to attend my family and that’s when I filled my time with culinary school. I pivoted away from my degree focused on Laboratory sciences and went full tilt into food. I learned quickly that I was not made for the hot line. Preparing the same thing, day in, day out. That’s the realization that made me fall in love with Catering. A new space, a new menu, a new client., a new everything every week. I’ve been now running my Private Chef and Catering company 12 years alongside my husband, who does the sweets, and couldn’t think of a path I could have been called to more perfectly.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think anyone who says they’ve lived a smooth road is inherently only showing the best sides of themselves. No road in life is smooth!
We’ve struggled, we’ve had issues with billing, and learning how to deal with accounts payable/receivable, we’ve had nightmare clients, we’ve been sick but had no one to call in to work for us, we’ve been unable to source ingredients, we’ve had LIFE on this road.
I think the one struggle that sits with me the most is when my dog passed, Prue. Named for a character Prue Giroux from Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, my little pug was the stinkiest, loveliest, and one of my best friends. Unfortunately, she had Pug-Dog Encephalitis and we woke up one morning to her having a grand Mal seizure. We put her down 5 days later. I was DEVASTATED and couldn’t stop crying. To my chagrin, two days after we put her down we had a catering event. A small bachelorette that I couldn’t cancel on.
In my grief, I went to grab my “Seafood Seasoning” which was right next to my “Pumpkin Seasoning.” Well, I ended up making Crab Cakes seasoned with Pumpkin Spice. Definitely not my intention, definitely not my recipe, and when I realized I had already seasoned up around $130 worth of fresh crab that I had no time to replace.
As I learned with anything in life, make it intentional. So became my “Fall Spiced Crab Cakes.” I’ve never made them again, but, honestly, they weren’t bad.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m proud of the level of “Extra” I put into all my creations. I think there’s this level of “magic” that we can put into things when we create. A bit of intention, a bit of whimsy, a bit of you, and all of a sudden you’ve created an item that’s unlike anything else anyone could have created.
It’s how my bolognese isn’t like anyone else’s, it’s mine. Like every Nonna running around Italy has their own signature dishes, all of mine have the same signature touch – love. My food craft is the main way I evoke my energy and I will never, never, never get tired of watching people take their first bite.
My favorite part of my food is my flavor. I think it’s so common to find bland foods out in the market. I don’t mean just salt, I mean flavor. I want herbs, I want garlic, I want aromas, I want it to burst with flavor in every bite. I also like it rustic. I like it to feel approachable and that it’ll stick to your ribs. I want you to leave full and smiling and ready for a nap. I often get asked what kind of food I make and I just reply “Things your grandma would make, but modern.”
My pot roast cooks for 40 hours in a Sous Vide bath. My pork belly soaks over night for 12 hours in the Sous Vide as well. These modern cooking techniques lets me cook a Brisket for 80 hours, that’s more tender than any brisket you’ve ever had. Then its torch finished and it SCREAMS in flavor as it melts in your mouth.
I’m proud of wall that I do, because what I do, as The Prancing Chef, is unique to only me. I’m sure there’s other people that do something similar, but they’ll never match my energy, or my vision, or my ability to be both “Dinner and a Show.”
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Oh gosh, I have too many to count. However, I think the one I’m called to for this interview is a meal I had as a young kid in San Francisco at Ghirardelli Square.
I wasn’t raised with money, my mom did what she could, made smart purchases, and gave us treats when she could. We never wanted to anything but we also weren’t showered in silver spoons. This treat of a meal in San Francisco was her intent to make a memory with me and my brother. I was somewhere around 6, or 7, and my brother is 12 years older than me.
At this fancy restaurant – he ordered a burger. My mom was LIVID. Why come to San Francisco, eat over looking the bay, at this metropolitan place and get something we could eat back home? Back in Los Osos, our little hidden town on the coast. She wanted him to order something unique something new something he couldn’t experience back home.
He stuck with the burger.
But me? Watching this? I never ordered a burger again, ever. Well I mean, that’s an exaggerated lie, but when I’m at a restaurant that I haven’t been I ALWAYS go explorative. The weirder, the better, the further reaches culturally, the better, the unique flavors/animals/methods, the better.
A lesson my mom meant for my brother became a core memory that guided my childhood and adult journey to always seek the unique.
Pricing:
- Lavender Packages at $29 per person
- Wisteria Packages at $59 per person
- Amethyst Packages at $89 per person
- Fig and Plum Packages at $150 per person
- Custom Built Menus with Custom Pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theprancingchef.com
- Instagram: @theprancingchef
- Facebook: @theprancingchef
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=the+prancing+chef&find_loc=Atascadero%2C+CA
