Comfortable Under Pressure

Meredith Laurence, the Blue Jean Chef, has worked in numerous capacities and settings in the food world. After graduating from the New England Culinary Institute, she first honed her skills in two Michelin-rated restaurants in Les-Baux-de-Provence, France. She then went on to work as a line cook at Zuni Café in San Francisco and at Café Rouge in Berkeley, California.

Meredith set out on a different culinary path when she returned to teach at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, instructing professional culinary students during the day and home cooks in the evenings. Having found her real passion for teaching home cooks, she moved back to San Francisco to teach and manage at two HomeChef® cooking schools (now Viking Culinary Arts Centers). At the same time, Meredith worked in the world of food and product consulting at the Center for Culinary Development, where she acquired an expertise in creating and testing recipes. For the last thirteen years, she has worked as the Blue Jean Chef® on live television doing on air cooking demonstrations, giving QVC customers advice on cooking and equipping their kitchens.

Meredith is the author of six cookbooks. The first book, Blue Jean Chef: Comfortable in the Kitchen, received rave reviews, and helped home cooks broaden their repertoire and become more versatile with a variety of cooking techniques in the kitchen. In her follow-up books in the Blue Jean Chef series, Comfortable Under Pressure, Delicious Under Pressure, and Fast Favorites Under Pressure, Meredith offers easy-to-read instructions for pressure-cooking and provides a wide variety of recipes for the pressure cooker, along with clear instructions and tips. In her latest collection, Meredith makes the Air Fryer a must-have appliance by creating even more easy, flavorful and unexpected recipes.

As the Blue Jean Chef, Meredith's belief is that being comfortable in the kitchen is key to successful and enjoyable cooking. How comfortable? Well, as comfortable as you would be in your blue jeans, relaxing with friends.