Pansy Michaels

How did you get into cooking?


I always liked to cook when I was growing up. I was always interested in food. When I was older I was working as a secretary. I was sitting at my desk, being bored, reading the newspaper and I saw an ad for the chef’s association, They were accepting application for an apprenticeship program to become a chef and I applied and that’s how I got into cooking professionally, although I did it on my own experimentally. I bought Julia Childs ‘Mastering The Art Of French Cooking’ - so Julie in the movie wasn’t the first to make beef bourguignon. Understand – this was the 70’s, there weren’t female executive chefs then, it was a man’s world.

How long had you been cooking on your own before you saw the ad?

10 years.



What was your first job?

I was a secretary in a previous life. When I started cooking I was a chef’s assistant in the convention center at what was then the Penn Harris Motor Inn which is now the Raddison. It was a 1200 seat convention center the biggest one in Harrisburg at the time.



What is your favorite food to cook for yourself and to make for other people?

That is the worst question in the world because I don’t cook at home. Probably some kind of pasta and seafood. I like doing classical French food, beef wellington, roast duck, things like that.



Where is your most favorite place – and where would you like to visit?

My favorite place is Yorkshire England, my most recent trip being 8 years ago, which has been way too long. I want to do Mary Shelly’s 6 week tour of Switzerland, and France. I love Concord, Mass – Thoreau, Little Women and all that.

What are some of your other hobbies and interests?

I enjoy reading, English literature, history. I collect books. I like doing some crafts – needlepoint and sewing. I grow lavender. I like going out to eat, and trying different cuisines. I do some sewing. I also love old china and crystal and linens.



What are some of your favorite restaurants?

The Accomac, the Belvedere, the Whip – which is this great little English pub outside of Coatsville. I like Taj Mahal – the Indian restaurant. When I’m just hungry – Lyndon Diner. For a great Reuben - go to Friendly's.



What are some books that you love?

Anything by the Brontes. Jane Austin, ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, but – I read everything. I just read a book called ‘Three Cups Of Tea’, about building schools for girls in Afghanistan, it was an amazing book – I couldn’t put it down, I love Shakespeare, Byron, Mary Shelley. I love biographies, I like to know about other people’s lives.

Favorite magazines?

Victorian, Saveur, and Realm.


TV Shows?

Greys Anatomy, political shows, Hardball, This Week and Meet The Press. I hate reality TV. I like watching Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and pretending I could have his job.



Are there any cooking shows that you watch?

I love the original Jacques Pepin and Julia Child shows on the Cooking Channel, sometime Ace Of Cakes. I don’t watch Food Network much – it really annoys me (laughs).



What did you want to be when you were a child?

A librarian, and I should have been one! I have a library in my home, arranged by category, and everything!



What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Never stop learning”. “Never think you know everything, because you don’t.” “Be open to learning new things”, “Live in all directions”.



What is something you want to do one day?

I’d love to waltz in Vienna.



What s the best gift you’ve ever received?

For Christmas a few years ago, a friend of mine set a brick in the sidewalk of the reconstructed Globe Theater, in London in my name. It was signed by Sam Wanamaker, the American actor who lead the effort to build the Globe. He died several years ago.

Who is a famous person, living or dead that you’d love to meet?

Past: Mary Shelly. Present: Jacques Pepin and Bill Clinton. (After a long pause) …… and Jon bon Jovi (laughs). I was trying to come up with someone very intellectual . . . but …….

If you could go back and meet your teenage self and give her advice – what would you say to her?

All this garbage that you’re going through now doesn’t matter. You need to plan for your future. Get your life together and go to college. Don’t let other people limit your possibilities, or tell you that you can’t do something. Follow your heart. Find your passion.