Freddie Holland of Match Foods, Inc., Part 2
This is part two of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice profile of Freddie Holland of Match Foods, Inc., maker of Match Meats. Part one is available here, and part three, a recipe, can be found here.
Robin Wheeler
Did your family cook when you were a child? If so, what meals stand out? Our family never went out to eat. All of our food was made from scratch, canned from the garden. We also raised our own meat. New potatoes with green beans, ham hocks and corn bread; stuffed cabbage; chicken and dumplings; chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and milk gravy.
How old were you when you started cooking? Eight.
What was your first kitchen job? Middle-school cafeteria. I was in charge of the salad bar and washed dishes.
Did you attend culinary school or college? I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in October 1990.
What do you eat? I eat five to six small meals a day. Breakfast is a low-glycemic protein shake, followed by small meals throughout the day made up of lots of fruit, some peanut butter, whole-grain bread. Dinner is normally something made with Match.
We'd be most surprised that you eat _____. Someone I work with got me hooked on those Cadbury Eggs. I try to hide them from myself so I won't see them, but I can only get so many in my mouth.
What do you cook at home? I very rarely make anything that does not include our products, and that is only because I am able to make so many things with it. Chicken enchiladas, Italian sausage with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes, burgers with sweet-potato fries; I love a grilled Match chicken breast with grilled cucumbers and melted dill Havarti. Something about how the flavor of the grilled cucumber meshes with the dill Havarti. Heaven.
Three favorite restaurants in St. Louis? Cork Wine Bar, Shangri-La Diner, the Royale.
Robin Wheeler
Favorite restaurants elsewhere? Chili Addiction at 408 North La Cienega Boulevard, West Hollywood, California. Chef Johnny is the Amadeus of chili. I've never had anything like it.
Your favorite food city? St. Louis, I can't find more Match options anywhere else in the country -- for now.
Favorite recent food find? Hemp seeds, delish.
Most essential ingredient in your kitchen? Match. Can't imagine my options now without it.
Favorite local ingredient and where you get it? Ferguson Farmers' market, all of my vegetables.
Five words to describe your food? "Just happens to be healthy."
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