My story (Zoe’s version)
Hello! My name is Zoe Borenstein and I am a private chef based in Portland, Maine. Through my company, ZB Eats, I provide chef services for intimate events and occasions in New England. Although I am a new business owner, my relationship with food and cooking began many moons ago. Here is my story.
I was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. My parents worked high-stress jobs–to say nothing of their absolute aversion to cooking–and so dinners in our house were rarely home-cooked: the food of my childhood was take-out. Cashew chicken and orange beef from Our Place down the street; linguine with clams and mini pizzette from Sarabella’s downstairs; veal chops, fried zucchini, and mozzarella en carozza from Tony’s across town; greasy burgers with waffle fries from Ottomanelli Bros. in the neighborhood; chicken pad thai with extra peanuts from Hi-Life by our synagogue.
Although I savored the rotating cast of eateries in our stuffed menu drawer, from a young age I started to crave home cooking. I watched Food Network with my Mom as a baby, and as a child, we would stay in all day on weekends watching cake challenges, chocolate competitions, Emerill Lagasse screaming “Bam!”, Lydia Bastianich on PBS waxing poetic about the Italian countryside. I loved watching chefs cook and create, and as I grew I began to read and watch voraciously.
I remember when I started to understand that cuisines were like languages. Each had an array of ingredients and a palette of flavors common to its region. I began to learn what flavors went well together, and I would dream about recipes I wanted to create, dishes I wanted to cook and taste for myself. So, as soon as I was tall enough to reach the counter, I started cooking in real time. Imagine you’re 12 years old and it’s 6 o’clock in the evening. Your parents are asleep in front of the tv, and your 15 year old sister is blabbing on the phone with the door slammed shut. What’s for dinner? Well, it was going to be whatever I could cook using what I had on hand. This is when my cooking really began.
I started making dinners for my family whenever I could. Nourishing them with my creations filled me with deep satisfaction. Not only was I putting everything I’d read to good use, but also I was caring for them by providing them with a delicious and healthy meal. When I was cooking, the sounds, smells, sights and tastes flooded my mind and body. In that kitchen, I could escape my troubles and go to a place of creativity and endless possibilities. And I had a whole lot of troubles I wanted to escape. My body was overrun by autoimmune disease, physical pain, and the stress that came with coping as a young kid. My life was different from that of my peers and it was hard to relate. I spent a lot of time at home and at the doctor. Cooking helped me survive.
My illness continued to hold a grip on me into my adolescence, and so did my immersion in food. I attended a farm school in Vermont for a semester of high school. At the Mountain School, I got to have experiences foreign to a city kid. I saw the whole cycle of the food system, from seed to farm to table. When I went to Bowdoin College in Maine, I kept cooking for myself as a way to decompress and care for my body. I had started to learn how to tune into myself while studying yoga and meditation, and I found relief from the traditions of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. I took this wisdom into my kitchen, where I started cooking bone broths and fermenting vegetables. I made connections with local growers and producers in my area and sought out their wisdom as well. In my newfound New England climate, I began to understand how food could be my medicine, as well as my refuge.
By the time I enrolled in culinary school, I had already been cooking as a way to take care of my body and soul. School became a place for me to learn more techniques, gain exposure to the industry, and see how I could make this passion my career. And I was on this high-speed train, working in the industry and learning under different chefs until COVID-19 brought my restaurant days to a screeching halt. I found myself back in my home kitchen again, right where I started. This time though, I decided to make it a business. ZB Eats was born from my desire to bring my cooking out of my home, and into yours. During all the ups and downs of my life, food has been my throughline. Because knowing how to feed myself with care is medicine in every way.
Now, you can find me cooking local, seasonal menus in the comfort of your kitchen. Imagine yourself at home with your loved ones, drinking in the delicious aroma of sizzling onions. You are greeted with a deluge of snacks: salty, unctuous cheeses with sweet and tart jams, warm bread, crunchy, pickled vegetables, a smooth and creamy butternut soup, fresh roasted nuts with earthy herbs and spices. You’ll sit down and toast to life with friends and family before digging into your crispy greens, dressed with tangy vinaigrette and coating your tongue with smoky bacon and runny egg. Before you know it, large platters of bone-in tomahawk steaks and crispy potatoes are being passed around your table and you are laughing about an old memory. You save just enough room to indulge in a rich flourless chocolate cake with local strawberry coulis and cream, a taste of last summer you’re still longing for.
Book an event with me to taste it for yourself.