Emily Goldberg ’12
Web Sports Editor

Helping to write two published cookbooks is not something most 15–year–olds have done. However, Danielle Hartog ’12 is not your average teen.

Cooking has always been a large part of Hartog’s life.

Her mother’s passion for cooking sparked her interest and she started helping her mom cook in the house when she was only four years old.

Since then, her career has taken off.

Hartog helps to run the business that her mother, Cindy Hartog, created four years ago called “Cindy’s Sous Chefs.”

With Cindy’s Sous Chefs, Hartog and her mother offer cooking classes at their home for kids as well as adults.

The younger Hartog admits that it was difficult at first to instruct kids her age as well as older kids.

“I felt weird bossing them around,” Hartog said. “But as I’ve gotten older and more comfortable it has definitely gotten easier.”

Their business has become a bonding experience for Hartog and her mother.

However, Cindy Hartog added that it is becoming more of a work relationship.

“Danielle is my number one employee. We are a great working pair and are always in sync,” Cindy Hartog said.

The next stage, and possibly the biggest part of Hartog’s career, happened by mere coincidence.

While in a New York City cookbook store with her mother and grandmother, Hartog caught the eye of professional chef and cookbook author Rozanne Gold.

Gold graduated from Tufts University and is now an accomplished chef.

She has worked as a personal chef for former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, and is also a four–time winner of the James Beard Award, an award that honors the top people in the field of culinary arts.

She is also the winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals/Julia Child Cookbook Award.

Gold was in the process of starting a cookbook for kids, entitled “Kids Cook 1,2,3.”

Gold spotted the 12–year–old Hartog reading a difficult, adult level Japanese cookbook, and she decided to start a conversation with her.

“I was so enchanted by her excitement as she told me about the book she was reading,” Gold said. “I was impressed with her enthusiasm and experience. I instantly liked her and knew she would be right to help with my book.”

To have her 12–year–old daughter be employed by an accomplished author and chef such as Gold was quite an experience according to Cindy Hartog.

“It was really funny, and a bit shocking,” Cindy Hartog said, “Danielle was young and we were in the middle of a New York City bookstore. It was very exciting.”

Hartog, along with several other teens, assisted Gold in writing her book.

“The cool thing was that I was 12 and being listened to and taken seriously,” Hartog said.

The process had a positive outcome and Gold asked Hartog for her assistance on her next book, “Eat Fresh Foods” only a year later.

“I called Danielle, my executive sous chef,” Gold said. “Any time I asked her to do anything, to edit or create recipes, she went above and beyond. From the first minute I met Danielle I thought she could be the next Rachael Ray.”

Along with the actual cooking process, Hartog also enjoys creating the presentation of her food.

“I like creating things and making designs. I love the presentations of food and food photography,” Hartog said.

Hartog also channels her creativity into other types of arts.

She enjoys acting, sketching and designing clothing, and sculpture.

This artistic and innovative tenth grader hopes she can pursue her interests at the Rhode Island School of Design or The Culinary Institute of America.

However, when asked what her favorite type of art was, and what she would look for as a career, she said, “I can’t really choose my favorite. Having a combination of acting, art, and cooking would be the perfect school for me.”

In the meantime Hartog looks to continue pursuing her passion.

She hopes to set an example for other teens for following their interests early on.