Camille Parker
Camille's DishAfter growing up in Wyoming, living in Rome and Sicily for a few years, and attending culinary School in Philadelphia, Camille Parker of the foodie blog Camille’s Dish finally landed in Chicago. Though she came here to follow her heart (the boyfriend she followed to the Windy City recently proposed!), she was uber-impressed with what she found in the restaurant scene. With an eclectic past that serves as great food inspiration, Camille is now an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu, a host for NBC’s Foodies, Chicago!, and the absolute go-to resource for all things culinary, from restaurants to recipes. Dubbed “The Dish on a Dish from a Dish,” her blog serves up resto reviews and recommendations for all occasions, behind-the-scenes videos with Chicago chefs, and lighter takes on her favorites recipes (“lighter calorically, not in flavor!” she makes sure to clarify). For this week’s Spotlight, we got Camille to, well, dish. And Camille is no stranger to G&F, we tapped her skills to help us deck out the Veuve Cliquot Parade of Boats party!
BEAUTY MUST-HAVES>> scent: ARMANI CODE // concealer: NEUTROGENA // primer: POP BEAUTY FACE MAGNET // bronzer: POP BEAUTY TAN IN A PAN WATERPROOF BRONZER // foundation: CHANEL SKIN PERFECTING MAKEUP // mascara: COVERGIRL PROFESSIONAL ALL-IN-ONE WATERPROOF MASCARA // lips: POP BEAUTY GLOSSES // best product passed down from mom: MARY KAY EXTRA EMOLLIENT NIGHT CREAM
Q: You’re engaged! Congrats! Besides the fiance, of course, what else are you loving about the city?
A: I love how livable Chicago is. It has all the city stuff you need, but people are nice, it’s clean, and you can drive a car. It’s not like NYC where you can never buy a watermelon because you have to walk it—and the rest of your groceries—five blocks and four flights of stairs to your apartment.
Q: So true. Can you dish your favorite restaurants in the city?
A: My all-time favorite is Avec. I also love Ruxbin for the same reason. Both places serve clean food with amazing and unfamiliar flavor combinations. They don’t rely on butter, bacon or heavy cream to make the food taste good. I hate cheater food.
Q: How about for brunch?
A: My fave brunch spot in the city is NoMi. AMAZING spread.
Q: Chefs aren’t necessarily lauded for their looks, but you always look great. How do you stay looking cute in a messy, hot kitchen?
A: I believe in a good up-do—it’s way better than wearing a hat. Once I had a customer come up to the kitchen window at my family’s restaurant, Nani’s Cucina Italian in Jackson Hole, to tell me that she hoped her hair looked as good on her wedding day as mine did working the line that night!
Q: You’ve got the hair down. Now what about when you’re out of your Chef whites? What are you searching for for fall fashion?
A: The perfect pair of brown boots!
Q: Okay, let’s talk down time. When you’re not in the kitchen, what are you doing?
A: I’m reading 50 Shades of Grey. Yup, I said it.
We’ve got a Summer treat for you:
Camille’s Watermelon Salad on The G&F Blog.
+ Find more of Camille’s flavor on CamillesDish.com.