Check Out Chef Markus Ford’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Markus Ford.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I like to think that I realized my love of food could become lucrative while still in high school. The truth is that it started way earlier! I can remember bringing homemade treats to grammar school celebrations. Then there is the event planning side of being a Chef. My friends from way back will tell you the story of my eighth grade luncheon. The teacher decided to cancel it and I said NO! I took it upon myself to book a banquet hall ballroom approximately 30 minutes from the school. But I did not stop there. The Saturday affair was complete with a motor coach, DJ, room decor, and a custom menu! I can still remember a room full of 13/14-year-olds enjoying their NY strip steaks with baked potato!

Markus studied at The Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago (now Le Cordon Bleu); where he began to first turn his love of fine food into an art form as a professional Chef. His training however, is ongoing. In the past years, Chef Markus has traveled to over 40 cities in some 25 countries! In each city, if he is not working, he makes time to meet local Chefs, to watch, learn and explore. His mantra, ‘You Might As Well Be Opulent,’ is evident in everything he does (you can even tell by his wardrobe). This theme continues to transcend culinary boundaries as well as his client’s expectations. And speaking of clients, Chef never divulges who he works for but has been spotted working for local and foreign business-people strictly of the UHNW crowd.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Cooking can be as smooth as a creamy hollandaise sauce or as lumpy as… well a bad sauce! LOL. I attended culinary school right after high school, so I was the youngest in the class. People really did not take me seriously. I was surrounded by middle-aged guys who have been in the business for years and just needed the degree and housewives who just needed to know how to be a better cook. While still in school, I worked at the #3 hotel in Chicago at the time. This is when I got my first big catering gig, 200 people!! Well, the client said it was 200 people, it was almost 350!! Lesson learned! #disaster. But this made me stronger (and, yes, a bit bitter). Those mistakes were never made again. I have worked every position in a professional kitchen, worked at hotels, restaurants, but I must admit my all-time favorite is working in catering! Catering is a huge mix of people, skill sets and cuisine. It is physically taxing! It keeps me on my feet and on my toes.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
“Cooking is physically demanding,” says Chef. “I have been a line cook, a prep cook, an Executive Chef and everything in between. Now I am fully focused on pleasing my private clientele. It is a different lifestyle, one with no set hours, but I love the ever-changing challenges of working in the private sector.” From TV appearances to private jets whisking him off to elite remote areas, Chef Markus keeps himself busy. His next endeavor you ask… He is looking for his own TV show and a three-book deal. So far, his food has been tasted by Nigella Lawson, the late Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre and he has cooked alongside such greats as Cat Cora and Chris Consentino and shared the spotlight with Paula Deen, Todd English and Duff Goldman. He has done pop-up restaurants, luncheons on a sand bar in the middle of the ocean, “glamping” on private islands, catered for the “Who’s Who” crowd of politicians, foreign dignitaries and royalty, and even multi-course meals on planes and yachts!

My most glamorous event? That would be a toss-up between a cocktail party in the middle of the Van Cleef & Arpels showroom, a release party for a rare vintage of Dom Perignon, and a dinner for two people with a staff of 44 people! Most of this is by word of mouth. Somehow people get my phone number and know who to call when they want over-the-top and exclusive service. My most challenging event… 2019 Burning Man!! Cooking in the dessert for a VIP camp and doing sit-down dinners for upwards of 60 people!!

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I do small parties. I do big parties. Some have even hired me to oversee and manage huge events when other chefs or caterers are involved. I travel for work to remote locations and have done gigs from 3 hours to 10 weeks!! So far as pricing, for a catered dinner, there is a day rate and then a minimum to be met even if it is dinner for two people. For extended gigs, there is a day rate and then I will bill the client for all food and beverage purchases.

Contact Info:

• Email: markusford@sbcglobal.net
• Website: www.chefmarkusford.com
• Instagram: @chefmarkusford

Image Credits
Headshot by Whitney DiNota