We recently sat down with Cooking Coach Beth Pilar to chat about her role at the helm of Whole Foods Market Pearl's new Cooking department. Learn a little bit about her inspiring grandmother, greatest kitchen disaster, and secret musical crush on Lyle Lovett.

 
Beth, with photographer John Kernick, styling food for a story about her friend, Chilean chef Pilar Rodriguez, at Pilar's family's home in Pichilemu, Chile; Beth's mom Cathy helps with cake decorating

Q&A with Beth Pilar, Pearl Cooking Coach

Your role as cooking coach at Whole Foods Market Pearl sounds like a lot of fun -- what excites you the most about the Cooking program?

Definitely building relationships with the customers and fostering a community of Boulder cooks. Also, helping people to gain confidence by demystifying cooking and to find the delight in sharing a meal they prepared themselves with friends and family.

When did your love of cooking begin? Were there any particular experiences early on in your life that shaped your approach to food and cooking?

My love of cooking was fostered by my maternal grandmother, Dolores. She looked after us and prepared dinner a few nights a week when my mom worked. An intuitive and naturally talented cook, she taught me how to really taste food and to figure out how to make a recipe better. I inherited a shoebox full of recipes that she clipped from newspapers and magazines over the years. Just to see her cheeky comments written on them in that elegant handwriting makes me tear up. Also, I worked for a Persian caterer through the summer in high school and college. The flavors that she elicited from her dishes knocked me out. Another fantastic cook and intuitive artist, Sparvim treated me like her daughter -- and worked me like one! After preparing the food for numerous events, she then had me work the front of the house to teach me what it means to serve.

You've worked in catering on and off since high school, most recently at the custom cake and pastry shop you ran with Ellen Sternau, How Sweet It Is. What time-saving tips do you have for new cooks who are interested in entertaining but are short on time?

We use prep lists in the kitchen and it's the most efficient way to get all your work done on time. Break your tasks down into chunks, it helps make things simpler and easier if you can tackle a few steps or recipes at a time, and when possible, in advance. Also, don't be shy about buying some prepared foods like puff pastry or olives and spiffing them up.  

 
A perfectly executed Suzanne Goin dish; Beth's Great Aunt Mary offers a decadent spread for tea during a trip to County Mayo in Ireland

You're writing a new column for the Boulder Daily Camera on foraging for local foodstuffs and techniques -- what do you hope to achieve by uncovering these hidden gems? 

My goal is to bring the special and exciting foods our farmers and artisans are growing in Colorado to the community's attention and offer ways to prepare them. I am really enjoying exploring my new hometown and finding out how farmers and cooks contend with the climate, seasons and altitude out here.

What is the first step to cooking well?

Dropping down into your own senses and intuition. Learn first from what you see, smell, and taste, and then tune into what you feel a dish may need. This takes time to cultivate for most of us, to be sure, but it's a great way to tap into the wisdom that we already have. Then, be open to getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new; be OK with making mistakes. All mistakes are opportunities for learning and help make us more confident cooks.

Why do you believe cooking with whole foods is an essential part of healthy eating?

Eating whole foods is one of our Four Pillars of Healthy Eating and something that, no matter your preferred eating style or favorite cuisine, you can get behind. Foods that are fresh, natural, unprocessed, seasonal, local, and organic are best for our bodies and our planet. There is a greater chance of accessing the nutrients in our food when it is consumed closest to its original state.

What music (if any) do you listen to in the kitchen?

That depends! If I am inspired by Spanish cuisine, for example, and trying a new paella recipe, I'll put Andres Segovia on. Lyle Lovett for anything Southern and spicy. When I get to connect purely with the sensual side of food and flavors: Nina Simone. But, if I am testing or developing a recipe and need to focus on all that is happening during the measuring, prepping, and cooking processes, silence is golden.

 
A cupcake decorating lesson; planning Easter supper (her first big family meal in Colorado)

What is your favorite ingredient for summer?

Fresh tomatoes. Really the only time to eat them. Sigh...

What cooking tool could you not live without?

Absolutely tongs.

What is your favorite regional or global cuisine (anything from North Carolinian barbecue to Northern Vietnamese)?

Spanish. I am a huge fan of London's Moro restaurant and its brilliant chef owners. Love their cookbooks.

Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster (we're guessing you have a good one!).

When I was ten and first got to bake chocolate chip cookies on my own, I grabbed the salt when measuring out for 1/2 cup of sugar. Thinking I could outsmart myself, I tripled the recipe in hopes of making up for it. Math was not my best subject in fifth grade! Now I taste the sugar every time.