CHEF SHADi

Persian roots. Mediterranean training. Seasonal cooking rooted in real food.

I cook simple food with depth—built from years of studying how people eat in Iran, Italy, and France, and how those traditions hold up in everyday life.

MY WORK

I work with food the way it’s actually lived:

in homes, in markets, in small kitchens, and at long tables.

My cooking is shaped by:

  • Persian food culture I grew up with

  • Italian regional cooking traditions studied on the ground

  • French seasonal kitchen discipline

  • years of private chef work in Colorado

I’m not trying to reinvent Mediterranean food.
I’m working inside it—season by season, ingredient by ingredient.

PHILOSOPHY

Good food doesn’t need complexity to have depth.

I focus on:

  • seasonal ingredients

  • small-batch cooking

  • balance over excess

  • meals that feel complete without being heavy

Most of what I cook lives in the space between cultures—where techniques overlap and ingredients repeat in different languages.

PRIVATE CHEF WORK

For over a decade, I’ve worked as a private chef for small groups, retreats, and intimate dinners.

That work has taught me something simple:

people don’t remember menus.
they remember how the food made them feel.

I build meals that are designed to be present, shared, and finished without distraction.

SAFFRON & HONEY

Saffron & Honey is the extension of that work.

It’s a weekly food system built in Breckenridge, offering prepared meals made in small batches for people who want real food without overthinking it.

It’s not a restaurant.
It’s not meal prep.

It’s a rhythm of cooking and eating.

TRAINING + INFLUENCES

My cooking has been shaped by time spent studying and working with:

  • Persian home cooking traditions

  • Italian regional food systems

  • French kitchen structure and technique

  • seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking in the American West

I don’t separate these influences when I cook. They show up together in the same pot.

HOW I WORK

I cook in small batches.

I source seasonally when possible.

I build menus around what tastes good right now—not what looks good on paper.

Everything is designed to be eaten, shared, and finished.

CLOSING

Food is not just what I do.
It’s how I understand place, memory, and care.

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