Chef Ellen makes growing mark on local food scene

Ellen Doerr never intended to cook for a career, but she comes by it honestly.

Doerr’s grandfather owned Frank’s Hamburgers in Huron. Her father owns Prime Time Tavern in Huron, and her aunt owns the Hartford Steak Co. Tavern.

“The restaurant world was just kind of something I grew up in,” Doerr said.

Grew up in, yes, but it wasn’t something she felt particularly called to herself, especially with nights and weekends that would take her away from her husband and sons.

Then, she discovered the world of personal chefs.

Today, Doerr owns her personal chef business and commercial kitchen at 2210 W. 69th St. under the Chef Ellen brand.

Chef Ellen offers home-cooked meals catered to a variety of dietary restrictions or preferences — everything from gluten-free to keto to specific macronutrient needs. The business also is starting culinary classes this month with sushi rolling, Instant Pot pressure cooking and “Pasta 101.”

“The variety that she’s able to put together and the different specialty selections that cater to different dietary needs, they  (customers) love the variety, and the recipes are spot on,” said Sarah White, a cook at Chef Ellen.

Doerr’s cooking experience dates back to her first job working at Burger King at age 14. She went on to major in social work in college but realized she didn’t see a career in that field.

A friend and roommate suggested Doerr try culinary school, especially after seeing her habit of searching for new recipes and cooking at home.

She graduated from the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, in 2015 and began working in restaurants in Sioux Falls. She met her husband, married and got pregnant.

“I thought I had my life together,” Doerr said. “I didn’t have my life together.”

In 2017, Doerr went through treatment for alcohol addiction.

She stepped away from the restaurant industry for a while and became a stay-at-home mom, but that wasn’t her calling either.

Then, in a turn of fate, her culinary school reached out to her. It had added a business program and wanted to offer her business classes online for free because it was now part of the degree program she’d already completed.

“The majority of instructors came from the personal chef field,” Doerr said. “It allowed me to explore that model in the Sioux Falls market.”

Doerr started Chef Ellen in 2018, and by the fall of 2019, she was looking for a physical space. She signed the lease in January 2020 with plans to open in March.

“I remember saying, ‘Yeah, there’s going to be a few bumps in the road, but we’ll manage,’” Doerr said.

The pandemic was more than a few bumps, but Doerr ended up opening in a market much more geared toward take-home meal options, and her grab-and-go meals became a hit.

“It was a perfect fit for what the market needed,” she said.

One of her bestsellers is her cheesecake, which, for a chef with so much knowledge about nutrition and various diets, Doerr just has to laugh a bit.

“We ended up doing like 15 to 20 percent of our sales in cheesecake,” she said.

Doerr also sells food items from other local businesses such as CNC Food Factory, Heart of the City Bakery and Sub Zero Desserts. Supporting others is one of Doerr’s missions, and she also rents her commercial kitchen on an hourly basis to other local businesses.

Looking to the future, Doerr plans to expand her class offerings. She also offers private classes for groups interested in learning a specific culinary skill. She’s also continuing her commitment to working with others.

“One thing that I really appreciate about Ellen is her support of other local small businesses,” White said. “She’s very passionate about that and understands that they (can all work) together.”