A chance meeting at a dumpster has led to a lifetime of partnership and culinary excellence for Bill and Shanny Apodaca, the owner-chefs at Simply Good Kitchen in Birmingham.
Bill was raised in Oregon and Shanny grew up in Michigan. The two met while attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 1994. They each excelled at their studies, being chosen from a student body of 2,000 to represent the institute at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago in 1995. Later that year, they and a third student had the honor of preparing (under the guidance of Chefs Metz and Rogers) a luncheon for U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
After graduating in 1996, Bill and Shanny moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to start their professions at Mark Miller’s Coyote Café. By 1997, they relocated to Royal Oak and launched their entrepreneurial careers. Their first business card simply read “Simply Good / Catering. Cookies. Cooking Lessons.”
Time has been good to the pair. They have taught cooking for some 15 years, published two cookbooks and, in 2006, opened a retail storefront in Birmingham that employs 22 people. Simply Good prepares delicious takeout food – along with those amazing cookies. The couple can be seen sharing tips and recipes on their own channel, YouTube.com/simplygoodkitchen.
Simply Good offers a vast selection of bistro-style food that is all natural and made from scratch. In addition to scrumptious soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts, they offer frozen favorites like chicken stock, Thai chicken wings, sloppy joes, chicken pot pies and sausages. Everything is hand-prepared on site in small quantities to ensure freshness and weekly seasonal additions add variety. All meals come with easy-to-follow heating and serving directions. Customers can walk in during business hours or, on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., have their order delivered to their car.
Bill’s and Shanny’s greatest joy is sharing a meal with their customers and students. Who would have predicted that a chance meeting at a New York dumpster would lead to a lifetime of culinary magic?
Simply Good is located at 1105 S. Adams Road in Birmingham. Call 248.203.2450 or visit simplygoodkitchen.com for more information.