Personally and professionally, a home-cooked meal is important to Pickerington resident Bonnie Nicklaus.

 

Nicklaus works as a personal chef, preparing delicious dishes for clients throughout Central Ohio. A member of the American Personal and Private Chef Association, Nicklaus prepares scrumptious meals from scratch right in her clients’ kitchens.

 

She will prepare any requested dishes, in addition to an extensive repertoire including shrimp and crab gumbo, baked citrus salmon, apple meatloaf with five spice sauce, beef Stroganoff and much more. Children of her clients favor Nicklaus’ chipotle macaroni and cheese, chicken and noodles and chicken enchiladas.

 

Nicklaus loved to cook as a child: she proudly recalls making Baked Alaska – a complex dessert – at age 10. Her great aunt and grandmother were big influences in her culinary development as a youth.

 

“They were always baking and making things, and I liked to watch,” she says.

 

Before starting her personal chef business, Nicklaus worked in the field of commercial interior design for 15 years. She also operated her own event planning business and worked in hotel catering before finally creating The Garden of Eatin’ in 2001.

 

Many of Nicklaus’ clients keep their meal requests simple. But at home, Nicklaus loves to experiment with new flavors and spices (new recipes get test runs with her friends and family, she says). With literally hundreds of cookbooks and countless recipes snipped from newspapers or magazines, the possibilities run the gamut of taste.

 

“A lot of times I experiment with unusual spices, like cardamom or cumin or tamarind, things you don’t get just anywhere,” she says. “I can just taste them in my mind and think, ‘That sounds really good.’ I’ll make something that sounds like a neat combination just because I want to try it.”

 

Nine years after committing herself to a career as a personal chef, Nicklaus says the gratification she receives from her job is complete.

 

“I was always trying to figure out what my passion was, and I finally had an epiphany,” she says. “My passion is the creative process. I love the process of coming up with new ideas for menus and the process of starting a recipe from beginning to end. I’m working my passion, and I’m doing what I love.”

 

Nicklaus shares a favorite recipe for stuffed chicken with Pickerington Magazine.

 

 

Bonnie Nicklaus’ Chicken, Stuffed with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Sun-dried Tomatoes

(Makes six servings)

 

6 large chicken breast halves, boned and skinned

6 teaspoons basil pesto

4 ounces parmesan cheese, grated

1 package diced prosciutto

8 slices sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed (drained and finely chopped)

Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

 

In medium bowl, mix together cheese, prosciutto and tomatoes. Slice pocket into thickest part of breast and open it like a book. Spread 1 teaspoon of the pesto over the inside bottom of the breast. Place approximately 1/3 cup of the prosciutto mixture on the bottom half of the breast and fold top over. Secure this with a toothpick. After folding it back together, sprinkle the breast with salt, pepper and paprika (for color).

 

Spray baking pan with cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Top with an additional drizzle of pesto, if desired.

 

For more information about Nicklaus and The Garden of Eatin’, call 614-563-4220 or visit www.thegardenofeatin.com .