Geneva chef in national competition for $25K prize, cover of ‘Taste of Home’

The kitchen in Carolyn O’Reilly’s Geneva home sizzled with the scent of grilled asparagus, shiitake mushrooms and chipotle pepper.

Tortillas warmed in an oven while tomatillos and sour cream were at the ready for a scratch-made green tomatillo salsa.

And that was just for lunch.

O’Reilly started in the restaurant industry in 1996, working for Lettuce Entertain You in Chicago, where she grew up at Diversey Parkway and Damen Avenue, born to a Black Cuban father and a Czech mother, both first generation immigrants.

“I said I wanted to go to culinary school and they said, ‘No way. We will train you.’ ”

They did and she became a chef in 2009.

She now is in a national culinary Favorite Chef competition to be on the cover of Taste of Home, a popular food and lifestyle magazine.

She currently is in second place.

Go to https://favchef.com/2024/carolyn-oreilly to place a vote.

O’Reilly has been on the Food Network. She competed in “Guy’s Grocery Games.” She came to the Taste of Home competition through her background and profile. The competition has to approve contestants as professional chefs.

The contest is divided into regions with finalists competing against one another and June 20-27 as the selection of each group’s final contender.

The last hurdle for each finalist is to prepare a plate presentation for Carla Hall’s choice. Hall is an acclaimed chef and host of “Chasing Flavor” on HBO.

The winner will be on the magazine cover, attend a New York gala with the James Beard Association and take home $25,000.

O’Reilly said she would put that money toward getting a space in Geneva’s downtown for her business In No Thyme Restaurant Consulting.

“I’ve found a location and I am working with the landlord to set it up,” she said.

O’Reilly also does consulting on allergy awareness, food and labor cost analysis, new openings, concept development, business plans and staff training.

For example, she opened numerous Maggiano’s restaurants nationwide, spending six months on location for each one.

“In No Thyme, I’ve aided over 120 restaurants with recipe development,” O’Reilly said. “I develop a recipe ... figure what the cost is. ... Restaurants are a close margin and this is improving their bottom line.”

O’Reilly said she would host general cooking classes and assist those with health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and high cholesterol on what foods to eat, what foods to avoid and how to prepare meals.

“I’d get them off the red dye and processed foods,” O’Reilly said.

She did this with her own son, born at 29 weeks and weighing 2 pounds.

“We prepared every meal from scratch, eliminating sugar from his diet until age 3 and using all organic, minimally processed ingredients,” she wrote in an email. “Our son received the proper nutrition to grow from his tiny 2-pound frame to the thriving 6-year-old he is today.”

She is board certified in health and wellness through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.

“I believe food is medicine and I am determined to impart this knowledge to those eager to learn independently or those seeking the right nutritional guidance to support their health objectives,” O’Reilly wrote in an email.

Her culinary kitchen would be a place where people can pick up meals that cater to their unique dietary requirements, she said.

“Some people don’t want to cook,” she said.