Dame Bev Gruber
Profile by Karen Binder
How did a child with an Irish mother who hated cooking become a classically trained French chef and cooking school creator? Dame Beverly Gruber grew up in St. Louis, the daughter of a Prussian father and an Irish non-cook mother. Bev’s early years were spent working in mental health psychiatry clinics in St. Louis, and where she wound up working for the dean of the medical school.
Following a move to Boston in 1974, Bev enrolled in Madeleine Kamman’s School for Chefs, graduating at the top of her class, no doubt because of her interest in both cooking and its underlying science.
She earned a teaching certificate from Kamman, and then was invited to be a teaching assistant where she taught until moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1978.
In 1979, Bev’s entrepreneurial spirit inspired her to start a company producing cheesecakes. She soon realized, however, she would much rather teach someone how to bake a cheesecake than grow a business dedicated to making the creamy dessert — no matter how popular the recipe was for building a successful business.
Inspired again, the following year Bev pursued freelance teaching and opened the Everyday Gourmet School of Cooking in her home but quickly realized she needed a larger space. She soon located a new location where she taught an 18-week course focused on becoming a chef, teaching her students everything she’d learned from Madeleine.
A few years later, Larry Mckinney, founder of Larry’s Markets, saw a good thing in Bev and asked her to move her cooking school to Larry’s Markets. She did, and remained there until 1999, teaching classes focused on her first culinary love, Italy, and its cuisine.
At the request of many students wishing to travel to Italy under her guidance, Bev formed the Everyday Gourmet Travel Company. The tour company allowed Bev to follow her passion and lead small groups to Italy’s many regions for more than 20 years. From Venice to Sicily, she shared her love for Italian cluture with her clients, introducing them to regional traditions and the authentic warmth of its people.
Along the way, Dame Beverly joined the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and in 1985, she chaired and hosted the first IACP convention in Seattle. She also served on IACP’s board of directors and as chair of IACP’s Scholarship Committee for seven years. During this time, she was also on IACP’s International Committee, which later inspired her tour business.
While involved with IACP, Bev realized Seattle was becoming a notable culinary and hospitality center. Fortuitously, in 1989, Dame Alice Gautsch Foreman, along with Bev and 13 other local culinarians formed the organization that became the Seattle chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI) — the first expansion chapter of the international non-profit organization focused exclusively on women in culinary professions.
At the Seattle chapter’s first election in August 1989, Bev was elected president, the first to hold this office for our chapter. In 1992, she chaired the national conference of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), the first held in Seattle. As yet another milestone, in 2004-2005 she again served as the chapter’s president.
Bev remains an active force in LDES and, along with having served as the scholarship chair for many years, she is still involved with several committees. We are grateful for Beverly’s foresight in helping organize the Seattle Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier and thrilled she’s still an engaged and enthusiastic member.
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