© 1998-2009 Christian Chefs International |
Director
What He DoesThe idea for an international group of Christian cooks and chefs came about at a meeting of a Christian club at the Culinary Institute of America, in which Ira was present. Over the course of time, God gave him insight on how to start a fellowship, learn web programming, and publish and write for a newsletter. These skills have proven to be invaluable because CCF is growing very rapidly. Currently, Ira writes one of the two articles per month, acquires the content for, and assembles the Christian Chefs newletter. Under God's guidance, he still does all the web programming, answers most of the e-mails, and takes care of all the other administrative and technical responsibilities as well.
About the PersonGrowing up farming in Tulelake, California, I pretty much had no desire whatsoever to cook anything (with the exception of macaroni and cheese!), and especially not for a career. After graduating from high school, I moved to Arizona to go to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Soon thereafter, I began looking for a job. It didn't take long to become a manager, and I ended up staying at that Taco Bell for a year. This was my first experience in the foodservice industry. Once I started getting fed up with that job, I went to the nearby Sheraton looking for the average college student's job of waiting tables. I was waiting for the personnel lady to get back from her lunch break when around the corner came a very large and imposing chef. He asked if I was looking for a job. "Yes," I said. He asked if I wanted to cook. "Sure," I replied. Three hours later, I was introduced to and working in the REAL foodservice industry in a high-quality and high-volume resort, working two full-time jobs while going to school at the same time. Flight school fell through and I left the fast food industry. After working at the Sheraton for a year, I moved out of Arizona and tried a few more jobs to see what industry I really wanted to get involved with, including everything from working in insurance sales, to factory work, and of course, back to cooking again.
 After I had finished working I travelled for a couple of months, and while I was in Switzerland I met a wonderful woman at a Christian conference God brought me to. (more about her a bit later). Near the end of my time there, I truly felt that God had for me to work in an Italian restaurant next. Since I was right next to Italy and many of my friends in the south of France were Italians, I figured that it would just easily fall into place. Instead, that didn't work out and the rest of my time in Europe was spent traveling, concluding with my flight out to Australia to visit my grandmother. I figured I was just mistaken in the vision of working in an Italian restaurant. Not long after I'd arrived in Australia, my grandmother came home from getting a haircut, and her hairdresser mentioned that his brother-in-law lives in Sydney and is the chef/owner of one of the city's top Italian restaurants. One thing led to the next, and God completed the vision He gave me of working in a fabulous Italian restaurant. So, after my 6 months in Europe and 4 months in Australia, it was back to the U. S. for me, in search of my first paying job in over a year (Since back in Virginia.) After returning, I searched around for work. Generally, I've found it difficult to find the right job I want because there are too many offers that sound good that I've had to choose from. While in Europe, God gave me the desire to study at a Bible college, so one of the last places I looked into was Calvary Chapel Bible College/Conference Center in Southern California. I drove there one day, got a tour of the campus, and asked to be dropped off in the kitchen. After meeting the chef, Lance Roll, I realized that I knew of him, as a chef friend of mine had mentioned how good the food was at the Christian conference center he ran (although I didn't know that was the one). At the same time, he immediately realized that he knew of me through CCF. From there, we chatted for about 3 hours. I moved there and started working 2 weeks later. I ended up working there for 2 years, first as a kitchen manager, then as the sous chef. God opened the door for me to enter back into the world of fine dining a couple hours drive south from there at one of the top-rated fine dining restaurants of San Diego, "Bertrand at Mister A's" restaurant. I started immediately as a lead line cook, the next step below sous chef at the restaurant. Then in May of 2004 God thankfully brought us out of the big city to a more rural area of Southern Oregon. I worked as a sous chef and executive chef in a couple of restaurants there until God turned our path to start our own full-service restaurant/B&B, "Pinehurst Inn and "White Pine Restaurant". We're between Ashland and Klamath Falls, Oregon, offer a fine dining fixe prix menu, and rent out 6 rooms in a 1920s historic country inn.
God bless,
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After much prayer and thought, I realized what industry God really wanted me in. I researched a great many different culinary schools, made the decision to go, and went 3000 miles across the country to the school I believed to be the best: the 
After culinary school I went to work in a small French restaurant in Winchester, Virginia, about 100 miles northwest of Washington, DC for about 18 months. Near the end of my time there, God opened the door up for me to gain some work experience in France. I worked in Roger Verge's Moulin de Mougins restaurant in Provence, and following that, in the country French Boulangerie/Patisserie (bread bakery/pastry shop) that supplies his restaurant.
While working at the Christian conference center I got to know Susanna better (the Swedish girl I met in Switzerland), flew to Chile and proposed to her, and finally married Susanna Rantala January 20th, 2003. What a wonderful blessing that has been!!! God blessed us with our first child, Jonathan Christopher Krizo, 7 days after her birthday and the day before mine on June 4, 2004!