Chef Rosie Daley went to the prestigious WLEE cooking school—watch, listen, experience and experiment. Classes were held daily in Encinitas along the 101. Sometimes they were held at St. Germain’s, sometimes Basil Street, sometimes Charlie’s, Kimo’s or Jake’s. And Daley said she couldn’t have asked for better teachers. The Chef at Basil Street was quite a tutor and Daley said, “Del Germain was a positive influence, super motivating.”

Daley grew up on the south New Jersey shore in a family of 13 children. She and her sister Maryann followed their sister Christine to Encinitas in ’79. Daley went to work at French Fantasy, a T-shirt shop in the Lumberyard. Already an artist, it was there she learned to airbrush. She was part of the Artist Colony. But Daley said, “I was literally a starving artist.”

She got a job at St. Germain’s to support her artistic habit and quickly learned that she could be as creative in a kitchen as she could on canvas. It was a brand new palette. “I’ve worked the restaurants up and down the coast,” Daley said. She was sort of self-taught, sort of very blessed to have worked with great chefs. “Chefs are interesting types. They’re creative. You have to keep an eye on them.” Daley listened to the ones who would talk and study the ones who didn’t.

Something called out in Daley while in the kitchen that was already deep within her. From such a big family she was already accustomed to cooking for a crowd. She worked in the garden a lot as a kid. She and her siblings would fight over who got to take the paper to a certain neighbor when they delivered newspapers. That neighbor would tip with cookies. She learned the gift of food. Or they would hire themselves out for odd jobs. “We once planted six acres of corn for somebody,” Daley said.

When she worked in The Girls Seaside Diner in Jersey, Daley learned the community of food and when she worked at Tim Rush’s roadside stand she learned the beauty and quality of fruits and vegetables. “I would pull the sides of the hut down and line up the watermelon. It was gorgeous,” Daley said. Some locals thought Rush was a little pricey, but Daley said he knew quality “and people would stop” for the appealing display.

After years of the 101 cooking experience, Daley became the chef at Cal-a-Vie health spa in Vista. She cooked for many celebrities there, but one took particular notice. Daley said of her own cooking, “It is low-calorie, low-sugar, but not low-flavor.” Oprah Winfrey inquired as to who was doing the cooking and offered Daley a job as her personal chef. Daley - The Chicago Years, began.

Daley cooked for Oprah’s business meetings, whenever she was entertaining, but especially at home. It was all about the olfactory. “Oprah liked me to cook in her home because she liked to come home from work to the smell.” Nothing makes a home quite as comfy as the smell of a good meal.

“ Oprah really works hard. She wants people to do the best they can.” Oprah has said of her own success, “What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people’s lives.” Daley gives most of the credit of her success to Oprah. And she added, “She was easy and so fun to work for.”

In Oprah’s kitchen, Daley was able to take Oprah’s favorite foods and make them healthier. Oprah grew up in the South, but if you are not living the Southern agrarian lifestyle, Southern food is quite fattening. Mrs. Eddins, another Oprah employee, who knew Southern, homestyle cooking helped Daley come up with an answer—Southern Un-fried. Chicken, catfish, even potatoes Daley made them without frying.

IN THE KITCHEN WITH ROSIE, Oprah’s Favorite Recipes, was Daley’s first cookbook. It has sold over six million copies and has been translated into Braille, Dutch and is in the process of being translated into French in Quebec. Any book with Oprah’s endorsement expects this kind of success, but the beauty of this cookbook is that it is simply good. It’s easy. And it doesn’t hurt that it is small enough to fit on limited counter space.

Daley worked for Oprah for five years, but returned to Encinitas because her son Marley St. John needed her home. A graduate of San Diguito Academy, St. John has his mother’s creative bent. He is a photographer with an eye for true color and distinct objects.

Making cooking accessible is Daley’s goal. “Cost and waste are the biggest things that discourage people from cooking. I like to teach people…to inspire to healthy eating.” She has written another cookbook with Dr. Andrew Weil, The Healthy Kitchen, Recipes for a Better Body, Life, and Spirit. “My background is in cooking and art,” she said, but Weil brought his knowledge of nutrition to the book. It was a great combination. The book is full of Daley’s recipes and technical tips, and Weil writes short essays to educate on why they are good for you.

“ A pretty plate is a healthy plate,” is one of Daley’s favorite sayings. “If there is lots of color it is good for you.” Daley prefers ‘culinary artist’ to ‘chef’ because she likes to bring in all the senses. Any Daley meal is visually stunning. There is texture as well as taste.

Daley the teacher knows how to reassure the amateur. “Cooking is part of feeding the soul.” She likes to cook with organic ingredients. Organic is food that is not sprayed or protein that has not been pumped up with steroids. “Check labels and know what is going into your body,” Daley said. But she is never overbearing in her approach. She understands a busy lifestyle. If you can only cook three days a week, that is three days that you are eating better than you were before. “You will get more nourishment and you don’t have to eat as many empty calories. Change a little bit at a time. Cook one good meal to offset the deli.” But with the holidays here, Rosie’s advice, “Indulge on special occasions. Moderation is the key to everything.”

Daley likes to make shopping as much a part of the holistic endeavor as possible. “Buy food in season,” she suggests. Rosie can be found at the Farmers’ Market at Paul Ecke Elementary every weekend. Shopping is part of the community experience. “Grow you own herbs,” she suggests. “It’s educational and a little bit of fresh herbs in your cooking will surprise your mouth.”

“ Slow down and enjoy the creative process,” Daley advised. Cooking becomes therapy in a way. “I like to put music on when I cook.” What does she choose? “I like Enya or the Blues for Southern cooking. It creates an image.”

And winter is coming. Daley uses blended soups to make thicker soups that become a meal in itself. “It’s chilly in Chicago,” she said of acquiring her affinity for bisques and chowders. “Once you get the concept of blending, you have options.”

Ultimately, Daley is about people. Food for her is a connection, an introduction to new friends and a companionship with old ones. She was the chef at a bridal shower recently and enjoyed getting to know the bride and then create what she thought would make the perfect celebration of her.

“ Don’t set yourself up for failure,” Daley cautions. If you are throwing a party, “I like to get the ingredients the day before. So that day is all about the meal,” and those who are going to enjoy it. “Don’t make anything you haven’t made before. Develop a signature dish.” How many good cooks are known for their bread, their chili, their pâté?

“ People don’t spend enough time with their friends,” Daley says of our fast-paced lifestyle. “Cook with your friends.” If you have leftovers, she suggests incorporating the leftovers into the next meal or “take what you have made to work.” And if a friend stops over, she suggests you just be in the moment, “Just slice an apple or some cheese.”

And Daley can play host even at the Pannikin. She wrote most of her last book there and knows the whole crew. Once she gets her tea and sits down, it would seem everyone in Encinitas knows Daley. So much so, that if you want one of her cookbooks she said, “Oh they can get them at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, anywhere really. Have them give me a call and we’ll figure out something.” Or go shopping at the Farmers’ Market, or get a large latté at the Pannikin, Rosie will stop by. •