Despite the reputation Chase has carved among professionals, she remains above all else a dedicated mother and wife. Chase says that she does not take shortcuts when cooking for her family, citing how she regularly cooks Nigel’s favorite meal, lollipop lambchops and potatoes—a recipe included in her book, Pedalling Through Provence Cookbook: A Taste of My Travels.

Chase says that raising a family has merited certain sacrifices to her career.

“My powers of concentration are not the same as before I had a child,” Chase says.

Jonathan D. Chase ’77—Chase’s brother and a self-taught chef of Deer Isle, Maine—disagrees. He says his sister’s “passion for wine, food and everything that goes with it has not diminished” since the birth of her son.

“The primary focus in her life right now is running a household and being a mother,” Jonathan Chase says. “That’s a full-time job.”

This Brother and sister culinary duo collaborated in 1992 to produce Saltwater Seasonings: Good Food from Coastal Maine, which included classic recipes such as Maine baked beans, fish chowder, strawberry shortcake and blueberry pie.

“We’re a very food-oriented family,” Jonathan Chase says. “Our grandmother was a good cook, our mother was a good cook, so we learned at an early age not to settle for less than really good food.”

Chase says that her son Nigel, who is now six years old, will accompany her to her 25th reunion. In preparation for the event, Chase has participated on the Food Committee for her class, negotiating with the event caterer until he agreed to reduce the price of the Class of 1979’s clambake from $90,000 to $50,000.

Still, Chase does not see being “business savvy” as her most important quality.

“I have integrity,” she says. “I have not gone bankrupt, but I have not made vast fortunes either. I believe in doing what you love, and the money will follow.”

—Staff writer Elena P. Sorokin can be reached at sorokin@fas.harvard.edu.