Amalia Damgaard, Private Chef and Principal

Cooking for Fun… Seriously! LLC is owned and managed by Private Chef Amalia Damgaard, a native of Guatemala, and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. Amalia has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Fontbonne University and is a graduate of the Executive Masters in International Business Program (with an emphasis on culture) from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri.  Prior to starting her own business, Amalia spent nearly twenty years as an international banking executive in sales and marketing with various prominent banks in the Midwest.

Amalia's cooking passion began at a very young age in Guatemala.  She learned valuable cooking lessons in her grandmother's kitchen, who cooked all meals from scratch.  Living in a culture with rich customs and traditions where a large variety of fresh ingredients are abundant, Amalia picked up traditional healthy and fresh eating habits early on without even realizing it.  During her years in banking, she always cooked on weekends and entertained regularly, always trying to become more proficient in the kitchen, eventually taking her skills to a professional level and joining Le Cordon Bleu.  Having so many options to choose from, she prefers to specialize in Latin and Spanish cuisine to continue to learn about her own culture and to grow deeper in such a vast group of cuisines. 

Amalia has lived, studied and worked overseas and traveled extensively, which has allowed her to experience the actual food and culture of other countries.  Ongoing travel and education continue to refine and expand her cultural and culinary knowledge.  She has developed her own recipes and cooking style mixing classic French and Latin techniques and flavors, converting traditional recipes into extraordinary dishes.

Amalia has an active and healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy is very important to her. As a result, her cooking classes also include techniques of healthy cooking.

Amalia's bilingual capabilities allow her to work comfortably in both cultures.  She is a former host of a local cooking segment entirely in Spanish on Univision, and a freelance food and culture writer.  Her material has aired on University of Minnesota's Radio K Latin Voices, and has been published in bilingual newspaper La Prensa de Minnesota.  Her work has been recently featured and was the cover story on both Eden Prairie and Edina Magazine (articles on PDF under News and Media).  Her main clients are professional business groups and Fortune 500 companies.

Besides running her own business, Amalia also teaches at various cooking schools and institutions in Minneapolis and St. Paul, including Cooks of Crocus Hill, The International School of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, The Royal Pantry Cooking School, and Edina Community Ed. 

Amalia also is a founding member and president of Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota (WeMn), a professional group geared to improve the conditions of women in business by fostering networking and education in entrepreneurship.

"Fish to taste right, must swim three times in water, in butter, and in wine" (Polish Proverb)