THE WOMAN BEHIND THE STOVE

By Emily Bell | | NEW JERSEY MAGAZINE - October 21, 2019

Dedee Royale isn’t your typical cooking class teacher. Yes, she loves food and yes, she happens to be an ebullient personality. But Royale didn’t grow up in a food family. “My mom hated cooking,” she says. Although she didn’t receive any formal culinary training , Royale spent most of her life doing something else with passionate creativity. “I was a classically trained dancer from age 2 1/2,” she says. Yes, she also ran a bistro and catering business in Milford. Connecticut, called La Petite Gourmet, complete with French maid outfit but it took some decades, and some seemingly indomitable energy, for Royale to find her way to the helm of her Italian Diva cooking classes.

Once you've met her you'll agree that you'll find a vibrant, no-nonsense woman teaching you how to make pasta by hand or in a Cuisinart while also regaling you with stories of Gordon Ramsay when she was chosen to be on Master Chef, Season 3.

We caught up with Royale, who seems to be perpetually on the move to ask her why food has stayed in her life throughout her performing career and how a septuagenarian gets the idea to start a cooking class.

Table Hopping: Running a cooking class can be stressful at any age. Why now? Dedee Royale: I welcome the challenge of adding new things to my life. I’m always doing something new! And at my age—well, just say I’m a “War Baby.” Just don’t ask which war! TH: Do you come from a food family? DR: My family were not cooks at all. My mom hated cooking! She only cooked because it was a necessity. I kind of stepped into the kitchen atmosphere around seven, started making little hors oeuvres—though I didn’t know that’s what you called them. I remember I took pieces of bread, flattened them, rolled them up with salt and pepper and a toothpick and called them “salt and pepper sandwiches.” TH: According to your bio, that didn’t lead to culinary school. So what’s your background? DR: My real background was a professional dancer, and an actress. I’ve worked in some episodes of “Orange is the New Black.” I worked with Tom Cruise in the movie “Rock of Ages.” But my real profession was as a dancer my entire life. TH: But you did have a catering business at one time? DR: Yes, Le Petit Gourmet, while married and living in Milford, Connecticut. I opened that in 1976 where I offered private gourmet dinner parties. It was just a little bistro storefront and had a French-Italian theme where my staff and I dressed as French maids! Long hours of cooking, catering, shopping, then going home and cooking for my husband and 8 yr., old twin boys where they learned to enjoy gourmet foods and devlop such an artistic palate. TH: What led you to open a catering business as a dancer with no culinary school training? DR: It was the early ’70s, during my divorce. I thought “How do I support myself?” Well, I got the great idea: “I’m a great cook, I think I’ll open a restaurant!” Forget what you wish for. People came from all over Connecticut, New York even as far as Washington, DC where some wanted to fly me to their homes to cook for them! TH: I imagine that’s where you got some of the confidence to take a (seemingly random) chance and apply for “Master Chef,” ? DR: Yes, it was in 2013. One of my sons called and said “Gordon Ramsay is in town auditioning for Master Chef. You should try out!” And I did! It was quite rigorous and I wasn't sure if I was too old. I didn’t know if I could cut it, but I did! Out of 50,000 people, I got it. When they called me I was like “Oh my god.” I was on the first episode only. But if you go to Season 3 and go to Episode 1, you might see me!

TH: When—and where—did you finally get the idea for cooking classes? DR: Actually in June of this year. I was recovering from knee surgery and was very limited in how I could get around. Being a person who’s always busy, I thought, “What am I gonna do with myself?” I don’t know how it popped up, but I said, “I’m gonna teach cooking!” Voila, the Italian Diva was born! TH: Why “Diva”? Do you think you went with a character first because of your performing background? DR: People always thought of me as a diva anyway. I started dancing at two and a half. I was always a performer, always up front. And cooking is a love of mine. I love teaching, I love good food. And I had to market myself. So I became the Italian Diva. TH: What are the classes like? DR: I’ve done about eight classes so far. Everyone cooks, - I just direct. Everybody has a cutting board and I make them read the recipe so they get used to my technique, but I tell them a lot of it is smell, taste, and feel. Cooking is not only an art - but a skill! Add a half a pinch of salt, add two, go by your own feel. How long do you cook it? Look at the color. Go by your eye. I want to help them develop their senses rather than just read a recipe. If you have to follow a recipe every second, you’re not really creating. TH: So you teach cooking as another form of creativity? DR: I teach how to be creative while cooking. Creativity has been a part of my persona forever. I even have a degree in Interior Design. I played piano and trained classically as a singer. I love being creative. In the '80's I designed wedding gowns and owned my own bridal shop in Delray Beach FL. My late husband would often say “Your tombstone is gonna have a long list on it: ‘Here lies Miss Dedee, who did everything!’” TH: All without a website? Are you advertising the classes? DR: Someone suggested I advertise on the Facebook group Secret Montclair. I threw in a blurb about giving a cooking class and people started calling me. I didn’t even have a schedule yet! Then I tried Montclair Patch. Then one day I took a bold approach and walked in at Williams-Sonoma and asked, “Do you ever do cooking demos?” And the manager replied, Yes! I quickly responded, “Well, I’m the Italian Diva!” That character was still just in my head. About three weeks later and after a few demonstrations, The Italian Diva gave birth! TH: That’s some guerilla marketing, fairly cutting-edge, FYI! So what’s student reaction like? DR: I’ve looked at the cross-section of people I’ve had. One married couple. I had a 13-year-old come with his father because the child expressed a desire to be a chef. I had these two single people show up and, funny, they’re dating now! I guess they found a common bond! I’m also offering “Little Chef” classes to kids who want to learn how to cook. TH: Any fall recipes you can tell us about? DR: I recently did a pumpkin ravioli last week with a sage-butter and hazelnut sauce. Then on the Monday before last, we did risotto with porcini. I had this couple, married for eight years; he’d never cooked in his life and he said, “I love it! I wanna do more of this!” TH: It sounds like a filling syllabus. DR: I’ll never be skinny, but I do eat well and I never (NEVER! use preservative , harmful chemicals, or pro-aging toxins that today's laboratory created foods are ingested with.

The Italian Diva has since moved back to her home state in Massachusetts where you can email her at theitaliandiva77@gmail.com for more information on her upcoming cooking classes.