El ZunZún – Janelle’s Vanilla Flan

GIVING BACK

This recipe gives back to Les Dames d’Escoffier International, Birmingham Chapter – a Chapter of which Becky Satterfield is a founding member. This organization raises money for women in the culinary, nutrition, food photo styling, restauranteurs, and hospitality fields.

CHEF & OWNER BECKY SATTERFIELD’S STORY

A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Becky grew up helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, learning as a little girl that meals are an essential part of family life. Her grandmother taught her that good meals start before the kitchen, in gardens and fields, carefully tended to by loving stewards of the land. She learned that mealtime was an occasion for togetherness and bonding. More than cooking and eating, sitting down for dinner is a time to catch up with loved ones and cherish the company of family. By the time she was 11 years old, Becky had learned how to prepare an entire meal on her own.

After working in the legal and financial fields in Houston, Becky returned to Alabama with her husband and daughter. She decided to add to her home-grown culinary education by studying pastry arts at Culinard. She began to cater parties for friends and neighbors and the rest is history. Satterfield’s opened in 2005 and has been one of Birmingham’s favorite dining destinations ever since.

Becky is a founding member and past president of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage, and hospitality. The organization concentrates on funding scholarships for women in the culinary and hospitality fields by hosting soirées and pop-up bake sales at Pepper Place Market. Becky’s newest adventure is  El ZunZún, a casual authentic Mexican Restaurant located in Cahaba Heights. This project was a result of her love of traveling to Mexico to study the food history and cultures to bring back to Birmingham, Alabama. El ZunZún has become a happy place for so many diners in Birmingham, Alabama.