Hey, you came to the right place. We are excited to share our story and teach you about gourmet foods, some health benefits of Gourmet food and ingredients. We will even teach you how to cook certain things and give you some great recipes that Chefron (Ron) has used over the years.
OUR STORY
Ron graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York with a Bachelors’s degree in the food business. He did an internship in Ischia, Italy, and created his own signature dish called “Veal Epomeo” using only ingredients from that area.
He owned restaurants in Seattle for many years. He met Pam who is now his wife since 1994. She goes by Chewife. That name didn’t come right away. Mainly Ron cooked some incredible dishes for her and he won her heart.
Together we moved to Monterey, CA, and partnered with a restaurant owner on Cannery Row. The name was changed to “The Kitchen”. It was right across the street from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The neighbors all had history on Cannery Row. Even though some things changed, some old buildings and some people from the past were still there. Even the building with the “Wolf Room’ in it, which was owned by Alicia who told us the history of the building and Cannery Row. We learned about many other places and stories that were in John Steinbeck’s books. We met so many great people and absorbed ourselves in the history of this place. An experience we will never forget.
During the day “The Kitchen” was open for lunch. Ice cream was also served and was a major attraction. During the day a Waffle cone maker was set up in the window for people to watch. They would always come in to buy ice cream.
In the evening all the tables were unset and the kitchen changed over. The tables were then dressed with checkered tablecloths and candles. We turned the light down and turned on music by Luciano Pavarotti and it became an Italian Trattoria. Ron would cook and Pam would serve. We had lines out the door sometimes and were visited by people from all over the world.
During this time we started making some of Ron’s sauces and bottling them. This was the beginning of Chefon’s Gourmet Foods. We started out filling empty wine bottles with his Garlic Sauce and selling them to customers. Later, Ron created more sauces and we bottled them using the kitchen at the local VFW hall. We had a few family members to help us every week. We would put the labels on while sitting on the living room floor. Every week on Tuesday we had space at the weekly market and would sell the sauces. A local bakery would make bread for us and would cut it up into small pieces so our customers could sample the product before buying.
We started having regular customers that would come by every week. We began doing tastings in the local gourmet shops and eventually sold our product in 3 of these stores. Pam started working on a business plan to get funds to go to a co-packer with our product. She also developed a website which our customers went to. Most of the business was local so we would deliver the product and sometimes ship them.
In 2004 Ron went to the dentist and they found cancer in the bone of his jaw. He went through major surgery and had his jaw removed and replaced by the tibia in his leg. Unfortunately, some cancer went into a lymph node so he had to have radiation. The radiation did more damage than the surgery. It burned his throat, voice box, and Thyroid. He was on a feeding tube for quite a while. Ron visited many oral surgeons hoping to get posts for teeth, but the radiation was so aggressive, no oral surgeon would do it.
Later he forced himself to learn to eat again, even though it was difficult since some muscles in his throat are atrophied. He continued to cook for the family and on holidays since cooking is his love and passion. He could eat most things if he cut them up small or mashed them. He used sour cream to get food down most time. Using the sour cream ended up being written in the medical journals for others to use.
We never did continue with the business, but he did make the sauces for us at home
WHY WE WANT TO HELP YOU
In 2017 Ron’s doctor decided he was not getting enough nutrition and was put back on the feeding tube. He still drinks coffee, soup, and beer. Thank goodness for that. Even with all these issues and not being able to eat food, he still cooks for the family and gives thanks to God every day.
We talked many times about making the sauces again. But his heart wasn’t in it then and Pam doesn’t know how to make them. We raised our grandsons through all these years and thought we might teach them and help them get the sauces to the co-packer. That may still happen, but for now, Ron would like to teach people about cooking and about food ingredients. He is excited to share information about some of his favorite gourmet foods and gourmet gadgets. Baking is not his thing, but Pam may share some of her favorite gourmet baking goods and candies here as well.
THE GOAL OF OUR SITE
The goal of this site is to teach you about different food and their ingredients. Ron will also share recipes, the nutritional value of food and ingredients. He will tell stories about where different foods came from, introducing you to some of his favorite food that he will make available for you to purchase.
We enjoyed sharing Chefron’s story. If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave them below and we will be more than happy to help you out.
All the best,
Chefron,
chefron.com