Christine Wansleben cut her teeth in the fine dining world of New York City before opening Richmond cooking school Mise En Place in Shockoe Slip.

"Danny Meyer was opening two restaurants [in New York City] and I had the opportunity to apply. Then I got accepted and I joined the opening team at Eleven Madison Park," Wansleben said about her time in New York. "I felt it was something I couldn't pass up. One to work for a Danny Meyer establishment. And to work in a restaurant where everything is top of the line and there's anticipation."

After years in the city, Wansleben was looking for a slower, more family-friendly pace of life and a friend recommended Richmond.

"We moved here in 2001. So in 2000, we started checking out the food scene, I started subscribing to Richmond Magazine, checking out the top caterers because we figured that it had a decent enough food scene at the time that we could both come down and get jobs."

Wansleben landed a steady catering gig with Tuffy Stone at A Sharper Palate.

"He was great," she said about her time with Tuffy. "Not only do so many great food professionals and chefs come through there and help out, but it also allowed me to learn Richmond and what people like to eat."

She also got the opportunity to teach others what she learned over the years in kitchens big and small.

"Tuffy would often teach classes at Complete Gourmet in Carytown and there would be times when he couldn't do it," Wansleben said. "So he would ask either myself or sometimes one of my co-chefs to go and teach it for him. And that's what inspired me to look into opening Mise En Place."

Now nearly 20 years later, Mise En Place has cemented itself as one of Richmond's best places to take a cooking class by yourself, with a friend, or as a corporate team-building excerise.  

Learn more about Mise En Place and Diner En Blanc on this episode of Eat It, Virginia!

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