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Chef Heather Bekar-Schulte has been involved in the culinary industry since 1994 but was born with a passion for good food in her blood. Raised on a small beef and grain farm near North Battleford, SK, she has long been an advocate for local food security. Her Father instilled in her his beliefs in traditional farming, animal husbandry and regenerative food cultivation methods. Their family farm and massive vegetable garden taught her early to have a deep respect for the origin of food and the work it takes to get it to our plates. She received her first gourmet cookbook at age 11 and never looked back. This set in motion a lifetime love of creating food for the enjoyment of others. She began to bake, create, and cook as a full-time hobby – collecting and reading cookbooks like bedtime stories. At age 17, she entered the culinary program at SK Polytech, directly after graduating high school.
There is nothing that can replace the informative culture of traditional culinary training program. Learning all of the basics and standards of food preparation and cookery and honing your skill sets will take you anywhere in the world you wish to go. Heather was enthralled by this wide new world of food off of the farm and immersed herself in the experience. If she had a passion for food already, this merely served to burn them a little hotter and make her future in the industry shine brighter.
She began her culinary career at Wanuskewin. After one illuminating year of working with indigenous ingredients and customs, her kitchen adventures took her to Alberta, where she owned a fine dining room at the intrepid age of 20. Table-side flambés, the vintage dessert cart and a weekly Chef-carved hip of beef buffet were the cornerstones of her retro menu. It was there that Heather gained her solid foundation in exemplary customer service. She enjoyed some edifying time in a Lebanese Chef’s kitchen, discovering amazing new spices and learning yogurt and cheesemaking. She then went on to work in the healthcare foodservice industry, gaining invaluable knowledge of a body’s nourishment and sustenance as well as hardcore portion and food costing. Later, she spent 6 years of parental leave as a Farmer's Market vendor wearing one baby after another in a hiking carrier on her back while selling fresh baking, hand- kneaded focaccia, farm raised eggs, yogurt, and organic vegetables. Later she expanded to homemade quilts, children’s clothing and, ever an entrepreneur, she even launched an all-natural, herbal soap company.
Becoming a single parent in 2003, she made the return home to Saskatchewan, and re-entered the foodservice industry full time. In 2008, Heather earned her Inter Provincial Red Seal Journeyman’s Chef papers. She continued to build her career and advance in the Saskatoon culinary scene, learning invaluable skills from several Chefs throughout the years, and teaching others along the way. Her adventure has taken her from the Bessborough to the Willows to Marquis Hall to the Saskatoon Farmer’s Market, amongst others.
In 2014, after twenty years in the culinary industry, Chef Heather, with the help of her late father, formed an independent family catering company, Chef de Partie Catering & Events. Through the years, each of her three children were inducted into the culinary profession through working in the family run business. Indeed, her daughter went on to earn her own Culinary Arts Diploma from the same school exactly a quarter of a century after Heather. This is a source of immense pride in the family. Chef de Partie went on to successfully cater to thousands of events of every type all over the province for many years, growing and expanding along the way.
Heather and her team competed in the Gold Medal Plates Culinary Competition in 2017, then in the Great Kitchen Party in 2018 and 2019. These events were a tremendous boost to the company. In 2019, the business expanded and moved to a newly built catering facility, designed by Heather from the ground up, fronted by a retail Local Prairie Market – where they sold products from their own Private Label culinary line alongside offerings from dozens of local vendors. From chocolate and organic grain to farm eggs to wild-crafted preserves, the market really brought prairie charm to the city. Alas, it was unfortunate timing, along with many other businesses, the pandemic years were especially challenging. These years truly showed the company’s and indeed, Heather's personal determination and resilience. In the end, Heather and family made the decision to close Chef de Partie, after struggling at finding balance between personal health, spiritual happiness and feeding people really great food.
Heather is now an independent Private Chef with her new small business, FARMGIRLCHEF and collaborates independently with single clients to give them the absolute best service and food this beautiful province has to offer. She is still an avid gardener and loves growing her own vegetables, garlic, and herbs in her large organic potager garden in Aberdeen. When she can steal away, she enjoys spending time picking apples and berries and foraging in the native pastureland at her Mother's farm. Over the past several years of running the catering business and local market store, she has forged relationships with many farmers and growers in the Saskatchewan community and credits these industrious people with keeping her creativity alive. Returning to her family’s roots, she enjoys bringing adventure into her kitchen with her “Prairie to Plate” cooking style coupled with respect for good whole foods. Chef Heather takes immense pride in her handcrafted menus that weave together unique and classical flavors using both seasonal and local ingredients. These inspirations create an elevated prairie tasting experience and lasting memories.
FARMGIRLCHEF EST. 2020