Meet The Chef: Lauren Owens
A chef by trade and spirit, Lauren grew up in New Jersey at the hip of many accomplished home cooks. She loved to cook with them, especially her grandmother, but she never dreamed it could be a career. A job at a local sub shop sealed the deal—Lauren fell in love with preparing and cooking food for others. She enrolled in Middlesex County College and earned her Associate Degree in Culinary Arts (she would later teach there as an adjunct professor). She worked at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse (the first woman line cook hired by the chain!) and the 5-diamond Hilton at Short Hills.
In New York City, Lauren taught cooking classes at a small restaurant specializing in culinary education, and on her days off she cooked with Chef Dan Barber at his world-renowned farm-to-table restaurant, Blue Hill.
Back in her home state, Lauren spent 10 years working for the Harvest Restaurant Group in many of their restaurant concepts, ultimately as Executive Chef of Urban Table in Morristown.
In 2017, Lauren started her own business providing services such as meal prep, couples cooking, health and wellness consulting, kids cooking classes and team building events. Lauren teaches her clients to understand the power of healthy eating through eating locally, seasonally, simply, and maintaining the integrity of every ingredient.
As I always say, make today great (and eat your veggies)!
Hear from some of my favorite people:
Lauren arrived for her interview at my tiny Greenwich Village bistro and cooking school, and I asked her to have a seat in my office, also known as the overstuffed couches in the front of the restaurant overlooking MacDougal Street. She sank into them, and we started talking. Immediately I knew she had a passion for food. She had a great smile and laugh, but she was here to talk about her background in cooking and to tell me why she should get the job assisting me teaching my cooking classes. Right away I could tell cooking and sharing her love for all-things-food was her calling. She was shy but there was that underlying passion that reminded me of my own that sealed the deal. I hired her. I don’t remember if it was during the interview or after she started working that she told me about her grandmother, Dorothy, who was her first big influence. Family is paramount to Lauren. She has a big family, but, perhaps more important, she creates a family wherever she goes, in her kitchens and with her clients. I’ve lost track of all of the things Lauren and I discovered that we have in common but we often joke that we are sisters from another mother. We both believe strongly in the importance of cooking locally, supporting local farmers and fisherman, and of course, eating lots of veggies! Lauren helped me open my second restaurant and was willing to crash on my apartment floor, get few hours of sleep only to start all over again the next day. That’s dedication. We approach food in the same way, speak the same dialect of ‘Food.’ We approach life in the same way too: work hard at what you believe in and life will reward you. It’s been such a joy to see Lauren go on to own her own business, spreading her enthusiasm for fabulous food with every one of her families. Lauren and I both love onions. As Julia Child said “It’s hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” They can be spicy or sweet, crisp or meltingly tender, a kitchen without them is not a kitchen, and by nature they have many layers. That’s an onion but could easily be how I would describe Lauren.
- Abigail Hitchcock, Owner/Chef at Abigail's Kitchen
I have Known Ms. Lauren Owens since she was a student of mine at Middlesex College back in the 90’s and I have followed her in her career very closely over the years. She had worked for me at a certain point in that time, but I have also enjoyed interacting with her in the hospitality community when she was not.
Lauren has shown relentlessly to be a dependable, responsible and stable player in the local culinary world and a completely self-motivation professional. She has certainly shown to be a dedicated force as well as a talented individual in the hospitality field and her passion for boundless customer service is a wonder to behold. Her extremely strong organizational skills and stable job performance has made Lauren a pleasure to watch as her career has morphed, changed and developed into what it is today.
Lauren had shown to be a customer-focused professional and a role model for all others in the local culinary community. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
- Walter Leffler, Executive Chef, Director of Culinary Arts, Revolution Taproom and Grill
I met Lauren Owens when she was a young student in our Culinary Arts Program at Middlesex County College. As a professor who has met hundreds of students throughout my career, it is significant that Lauren is still a very important part of the program, and my life almost 20 years later.
Lauren stood out in class as an inquisitive and engaged learner. Her Garde Manger chef instructor was so impressed that he hired her soon after graduation. I’ve recruited her to work home parties, and later, to be my lab assistant in my Baking class. She has worked for the college as an adjunct chef instructor, teaching the Basic Foods course and our Quantity Foods Management course. Chef Owens has served on our program advisory board, offering keen industry insight into our courses and program development. She has mentored teams of students in my Food Business course and continues to maintain professional contact with them. Chef is a welcome guest at the Garde Manger practicals, or as a Zoom speaker. She is a talented culinary practitioner who can speak about culinary techniques, food integrity, and the small business grind with passion.
Social media has allowed many of us to stay in touch long after graduation and it has been a delight to watch her inspiring and dazzling new audiences and clients with her many skills, delivered with enthusiasm and a big heart.
-Deborah Keenan Lynch, Culinary Arts Associate Professor, Middlesex County College
I first met Lauren as young customer. I knew her to be thoughtful and studious. I hired her as a teenager and she was a reliable, hard working employee, mature beyond her years. She was very interested in learning to make food for the customers, so it was no surprise she went on to culinary school. I have enjoyed watching her grow and hearing about her experiences.
- George Post, Owner of Sub Place Better
Chef Lauren is awesome!! She came to work with me right out of culinary school and has grown to be an incredible chef. Lauren is professional, personable, an excellent cook and sooooo much fun!! All her food not only tastes great, but looks even better. I highly recommend calling Chef Lauren for any culinary needs, and if possible, make her your personal chef. ❤️
-Sheila Shearin
