Chef Manager Haydee Padilla
Haydee Padilla is excited to lead The Browning School’s dining service program as Chef Manager. Prior to joining Cater To You, Haydee put her culinary prowess to use at Greek from Greece (GFG) Bakery-Café and Fournos Theofilos; two culinary destinations that merged under the GFG Bakery-Café brand, raising the bar of Greek cuisine in America.
Haydee’s official background is in criminal justice and intelligence operations. Her culinary expertise comes from hands-on experience with the many chefs she has worked with in the past.
From a young age, Chef Haydee enjoyed watching her mother cook. It was when she successfully made her first pot of rice that she realized cooking was something she could be good at. While cooking is truly an art, Hayde also loves the science behind it. “Simply mixing the different flavors can take someone anywhere in the world,” she explains.
Chef Haydee grew up in Suffolk County on Long Island, but her family hails from Puerto Rico and Cuba. She loves cooking all types of food however, not just cuisine that represents her culture. Now, at The Browning School, Haydee gets great satisfaction from seeing how much the students enjoy lunch, and from serving from-scratch, healthy options to the community.
Her favorite dish to prepare is pasteles. Pasteles are made with pork and adobo stuffing encased in a green plantain masa and wrapped in banana leaves. Although time-consuming and labor-intensive, they are worth the effort and Haydee claims that when she is done eating, she sleeps like a baby. Her favorite food to enjoy is Paratha, similar to Naan and prevalent throughout modern-day India. It is a type of flatbread that can be stuffed according to the chef's tastes and even eaten as breakfast food. Chef Haydee loves having her Paratha with homemade tzatziki, chicken tikka, pickled red onions, and fresh tomatoes.
When she is not busy in the kitchen, Haydee loves playing Call of Duty, reading non-fiction books, trying out new restaurants, and making a mess in the kitchen with her two little rascals.