Chef Shannon’s a caterer with cooking in her DNA
Get to know Shannon, and order her meals for pickup in Belmont Cragin!
Q: What’s your cooking background?
Shannon: I am a self-taught chef, who started preparing foods for family and friends and found myself loving it. I worked for different restaurants and found I was good at what I prepared. One of my favorites was Mom’s Old Recipe Mexican Restaurant.
In 2010 I started my own catering business for special events that included weddings, quinceañeras, and private parties. My menus include authentic Puerto Rican, Mexican, Greek and Italian Cuisines.
Q: What are you cooking on Sunday?
Shannon: Pastelon! Sweet plantain stuffed with ground beef and cheese, served with a side of white rice.
Q: Where did you grow up and what kind of food did you grow up with?
Shannon: Well, I was born in Chicago, but moved to Puerto Rico when I turned 8. My parents stayed in Puerto Rico. But I would visit Chicago for summers and holidays, until I moved back to Chicago as a young adult.
In Puerto Rico, I learned to prepare all types of typical Puerto Rican Cuisine with the advantage of having family all over the Island. We enjoyed the typical dishes from the coast like seafood and typical inland dishes made using our fruits, vegetables, spices, and proteins. While in Chicago I loved and still love authentic Mexican, Italian and Greek Cuisines.
Q: What are your favorite food memories?
Shannon: Cooking with my grandmom and great-grandmom is the most memorable. I have their legacies of passion and love in the kitchen — whether it be on their conventional stoves, wood burning stoves, or campfire stoves by the riverbanks. The secret touch is the love put to the confection of the dishes and the joy of watching them eat. Cooking is in my DNA.
Find Shannon’s menu in Belmont Cragin, and order her “Pastelon” now, for pickup on Sunday from 1-4PM!
