Dave Esau, 43, chef/owner of Dave's Specialty Foods in Mount Prospect, always knew he wanted to cook for a living and started looking at cooking schools while he was a sophomore at Buffalo Grove High School.

"I'm passionate about food," says Esau, who attended Dumas Pere l'Ecole de Cuisine in Glenview in 1985 while working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago. He went on to study in Lyon, France, with a Michelin-rated chef.

Upon returning to the Chicago area, Esau served as chef de cuisine at D&J Bistro in Lake Zurich and in the kitchens at Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago. He later moved to Kohler, Wis., as chef at The American Club, a five-diamond resort hotel.

In 2002, chef Esau moved to the suburbs with his wife and two children to open Dave's Specialty Foods, a gourmet food shop, where he offers catering services and a wide variety of cooking classes.

What sparked your interest in cooking? My grandma Viola wanted to show me how to cook. When she came over we would make pies and stretch taffy. She taught me how to make watermelon pickles.

What is the concept behind Dave's Specialty Foods? Awesome catering and good service. We offer fresh food and try to be as green as possible.

What do you receive the most requests for? Risotto cakes and our cookies. We also get a lot of requests for cheese. People often ask for a special cheese, and I try to find it.

What is the secret to successful catering? Good service. You have to be nice and offer decent value. Most caterers are too high priced. You want people to call the hostess and say how good the food was; the food has to be memorable. I try to serve good quality food, and I think it shows.

What culinary task do you enjoy most? Teaching. I like teaching people how to cook. I love it. I have been doing it for 15 years.

What has been your most memorable moment in the kitchen? In 1991, while I was working for Charlie Trotter's, I cooked for Julia Child at a home on the North Shore. She came into the kitchen and meeting her was awesome. She loved the quinoa with wild mushrooms and corn. She was memorable and very tall; she was easily 6 feet 4 inches tall.

What is your favorite meal to prepare for yourself? I love making pastas. I really love cooking fish, but I don't cook it at home. I also love grilling a good steak and making a sauce for it. Good sides, like polenta, are always important.

What item should every home cook own? A big cutting board and a set of knives that is not in the drawer but on the counter or in a cutting block, a tea kettle on the stove and a set of wooden stirring spoons. These things should never be put away. You want basic stuff at hand when you need it - no gadgets like egg separators and garlic presses.

Whose culinary work do you admire? Jacques Pepin, Craig Claiborne and Julia Child. I also use a lot of dessert books from pastry chef Emily Luchetti.

What do you do in your spare time? Gardening. I like growing herbs and flowers, especially perennials. I also like hiking and biking. I'm an outdoors guy.

What do you enjoy most about being a chef? Cooking is definitely my passion and God-given talent; I love doing it. I love coming to work and doing it all every day.

Tell us about this recipe. Waldorf Apple Salad is a timely, seasonal recipe that is tasty, flavorful and retro. It's a good representation of how I cook.

Try it at home, then stop by Dave's Specialty Foods, 105 W. Prospect Ave., Mount Prospect, (847) 259-9510.

Waldorf Applie Salad
3 Gala apples, cored and diced
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup raisins
cup roasted walnuts, rough chopped
cup mayonnaise
cup sour cream
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Dash black pepper
Combine all ingredients and stir well. Serve well-chilled the day it's made.

Serves eight.

Chef Dave Esau, Dave's Specialty Gourmet, Mount Prospect