Our favorite Bistro To Go chefs will launch our new cooking classes January 2012. Chef Alfredo, Mary Lee, Bruce Klein and Nikki Heckman are featured in the weekly class calendar, and will be joined throughout the year by guest chefs from Pittsburgh’s finest restaurants.

Chef Alfredo

Originally from the Bahamas, Alfredo Russell arrived in Cocoa Beach, Fla., in 1959 and played keyboards and bass in a band before he became a full-time chef. In Florida, he cooked for NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, moved to Pittsburgh in 1975, and cooked for such sports celebrities as Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and Louis Lipps. Chef’s cuisine and kind heart are much loved by people from all over the city.

Chef Alfredo will share a (only) few of his secrets for mouthwatering southern and New Orleans-influenced meals—including his famous Chicken Isabel, Bahama veggies, and gumbos—plus his secrets for great grilling.

Mary Lee

Mary came to the US from Taiwan in 1970 to get a dietetic degree in college in St. Louis. After college she married and moved to Pittsburgh, where she has worked kitchen supervisor positions in two hospitals and a junior high school. She has also taught cooking classes for Community College of Allegheny County.

Mary enjoys cooking immensely, especially the Chinese recipes from her heritage.  For her classes, expect a variety of simple, nutritious and delicious Chinese samplings, from egg rolls to sweet and sour shrimp, from fried rice to chicken broccoli.

Bruce Klein 

Photo coming soon! Bruce is Bistro’s newest chef! He has worked in Italian, Seafood and Pancake restaurants. He enjoys cooking in a variety of nationalities of food, and perfers fresh and organic fruit and vegetables. With a focus on quality, fish can only be wild caught – not farmed raised. Bruce believes in making cooking easy and fast. Preparation and presentation are very important to Bruce.

Nikki Heckman

Everybody knows Nikki, the owner of  Bistro To Go.  She comes from a large Italian family, learning the Old World traditions of cooking from her grandmother, and fondly remembers their big, traditional meals eaten on long tables in the basement. After college she focused on a food service career, gaining culinary skill and management experience from corporate and individually owned restaurants including TGI Fridays, The Brass Rail and Bewley’s in Ireland.

Nikki will share her secrets for making delicious comfort foods from a variety of ethnic and regional cuisines, as well as her passion for fresh, nutritious ingredients.

Plus other guest chefs throughout the year.  Bon appétit!

 

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