Continental Cook

Oakland University graduate Heidi Andermack, CAS ’91, turned her teenage wanderlust into a catering brand as the co-owner of Chowgirls Killer Catering in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Without knowing it, I fell into exactly what I wanted to do,” she says.

Chowgirls, which Andermack founded with fellow foodie, Amy Lynn Brown, in 2004, is a blend of southern-style comfort food and Andermack’s Sicilian roots — with some recipes being passed down from generations.

“I’d say cooking has increased my wanderlust! I love to explore cuisines and flavors when I travel, and often times my travels are motivated by taste,” she says, adding, professors like Carlo Coppola — now OU’s professor emeritus of modern languages, literature, and linguistics — encouraged her to explore cultures using food.

“For his Middle Eastern studies class, I attempted to make Baba Ghanoush from scratch. The recipe seemed easy enough … broil an eggplant until the skin was charred. I took the charring a bit too far, setting off smoke alarms and destroying the delicate vegetable,” Andermack remembers. But she’s learned a lot about food since then.

Expanding her brand, Andermack is working on a follow up book to the successful “Chowgirls Killer Party Food: Righteous Bites and Cocktails for Any Occasion” (Arsenal Pulp Press), now in its second printing, and added an entertainment venue to Chowgirls’ catering offerings.

“I love nothing more than recreating dishes from my travels to take me back to those special memories,” she says. “My hope is that sharing those flavors and inspirations can create a compelling eating experience.”