“It was purely accidental,” admits renowned Chef Dean Sheremet on finding his passion for food. The 35-year old food enthusiast who previously worked in the entertainment industry as a professional dancer found the kitchen to be his safe haven while handling his hectic Hollywood lifestyle. “Food had always been a through line in my life and I was always cooking on tour or at holidays, but it wasn’t until I went through a very nasty breakup that I decided to move away from the celebrity world of LA, put my nose down and go to culinary school and make it my life.”
Though, he started his career later than most chefs, Sheremet was no stranger to the kitchen. Being raised by his grandmother, a Detroit-based pastry chef, he often found playtime was taking place in the kitchen. “I was a very hyper child and the only way [my grandma] got me to calm down was by inviting me into the kitchen and putting me to work. At about age 5 or 6 I cracked my first egg and I was hooked ever since.”
Sheremet then went on to train at the French Culinary Institute where his dedication and zeal to the craft, which requires long and arduous hours that are both “physically demanding and mentally challenging,” paid off. He proved he could stand more than the heat in the kitchen and graduated at the top of his class before landing positions in 3-Michelin-star kitchens and features on nationally syndicated television programs.
“Most of the time you are chopping, peeling prepping and cleaning. I’ve found the zen in my prep work and it’s almost become a meditative act for me to seek perfection in the mundane,” Sheremet confides. “The hours it took to even get the opportunity to do any of those things has been one of the most thankless, grueling paths ever. You have to absolutely love it.”
And clearly he does. The Michigan-bred cuisinier dropped a book last February encouraging you to “Eat Your Heart Out.”
“I’ve always made my food and my cooking accessible. I want to share everything I learn with someone else and maybe inspire them along the way,” he adds. His eat healthy, feel healthy cookbook contains recipes of healthier versions of your favorite comfort foods, like Japanese Fried Chicken, Butternut Squash Lasagna, and Spicy Avocado Toast.
Sheremet, who is currently cooking overseas, is headed to a television set near you as he’s just finished shooting a FOX-based cooking competition show called “My Kitchen Rules” slated for a January premiere. He’ll also host a holiday show set to debut this Fall on the CW.
For more information on Chef Dean Sheremet visit DeanSheremet.com.
