60 Men Who Cook: Steve Lord—A Self-Made Chef

In one week, 60 chefs will be "competing" for your vote at .

Over the past few weeks, you have had the opportunity to be introduced to who have graciously offered to be a part of this event that is presented by Geneva Chamber of Commerce and supports Geneva History Center, Geneva Lions Club and Rotary Club of Geneva. Steve Lord may be the final chef in this series, but you can meet all 60 at the event next Friday, May 11.

is not only recognizable by his name, as he is a news reporter for The Beacon News, but also by his face because he is a frequent performer and board member at and he writes short stories, plays and screenplays. So, obviously he can write, but can he cook?

“Well, the truth is, I’m a self-made cook. When I was single and living on my own in the early 1980s, I got sick and tired of always making macaroni and cheese out of a box. So I bought The Joy of Cooking and a number of other cookbooks and learned how to cook.”

And he continued to perfect his culinary skills.

“For a long time on my own (I cooked), and then when my wife and I were first married, I cooked a lot and spent a lot of time on it. Then, when the kids came along, between them not liking what I cooked and not having a lot of time, it was back to macaroni and cheese out of a box!”

Steve is a returning chef and believes in using fresh ingredients and the blending of flavors. As of this writing, he isn’t sure what we will all be sampling, but one thing we can count on is his booth will be clean.

“Once I slaved over a dinner and was 'graded down,' if you will, for leaving the kitchen messy. So I learned how a chef is supposed to sort of clean as he goes.”

One of the questions asked is, ‘Any other interesting factoid you would like to add?’ Most  chefs will use this space as a final shameless plug to vote for them, but Steve actually added something very random, but nonetheless interesting.

“The can was invented in 1810, but the can opener was sometime in the 1870s. That means for about 60 years, people canned food but didn’t have a way to open the cans!”

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.

Vote for your favorite chef at www.genevachamber.com and at 60 Men Who
Cook.

The fourth annual 60 Men Who Cook takes place at 5:30 p.m. May 11, at Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles. Tickets are available at the Geneva Chamber of Commerce (8 S. Third St.), Geneva History Center (113 S. Third St.), The Paper Merchant (328 S. Third  St.) and State Street Jewelers (214 W. State St).  View last year's fun at http://youtu.be/ABXWEZPxjTk