About Tom Castrigno

For the past 10 years, Tom has been cooking and teaching all around Summit County as the Mobile Chef. His cooking roots go way back to the Sunday dinner table at his Italian grandparents home. Those afternoons of gathering at the table with three generations of family to share a lushious meal, literally “from soup to nuts”, instilled a passion for fine artisan foods. Through work and international travel, Tom continued to explore different cuisines and hone his chef skills. A big fan of fresh, wholesome, natural foods, Tom’s meals feature delicious menus that are healthful and a delight to the senses.

Tom currently provides personal in-home chef service, coordinates a natural foods co-op, teaches cooking at the local community college and recreation centers, and has been host of “Cooking with Krystal” on KYSL radio, 93.9FM. This fun, educational program featured live on the air cooking right in the studio along with a focus on the benefits of healthy eating habits.

Previous Clients have had this to say about Tom's personal chef service. “We had kids in our group, and it was great for them to be able to get up and move around while the rest of us stayed at the table and relaxed". “The food was just great, and the service very unintrusive. What a terrific evening. Thank you”.

Tom's cooking classes are a special treat. Participants are guided throughout the preparation of the meal while they learn by doing. “Tom was really patient, I learned so much.” “Now I feel confident that I can prepare these dishes at home myself”.

Ethnic cuisines can bring simple foods to life. For this reason, Tom has chosen to focus on menus with an international flair. Of course Mediterranean menus get lots of attention. “I have a soft spot for dishes from this region because of my heritage”, says Tom. “The wide range of variety that made up Sunday dinners meant we never ate too much of any one thing. Having a series of smaller courses added up to one fantastic meal.”

Grandpa had a vegetable garden in the yard. The first thing we did when we got to the house was to go into the garden and look at the foods we would be eating that afternoon. Of course there were tomatoes and zucchini, also eggplant and spinach too. Along the side of the house was an herb garden. We would snip parsley and oregano and bring them inside to grandma so she could add them to our meals.

After his first taste of Thai, Tom was hooked. He learned everything he could about the cuisine and even spent three weeks in Thailand taking cooking classes and watching and learning. The light fresh flavors of Thai are so different from Chinese. The combination of spicy sweet and salty is just incredible.

Tom's first love may be Italian, but you could say his current affair is with Indian. The richness of coriander, cardamom, ginger, cumin, and turmeric gives these dishes a depth that must be tasted to be believed. Again, it is the simple preparation given to fresh food that makes this cuisine really shine.

When he is not in the kitchen, Tom can be found outdoors enjoying skiing at Breckenridge, hiking around A-Basin, sailing on Lake Dillon, or riding through the forest on his mountain bike. Always willing to offer a meal, he & his wife Kathy feed a variety of wild birds in the woods behind their home in Frisco. A Summit County resident since 1986, Tom enjoys all that living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains has to offer.