A dinner served more than 20 years ago directly impacted Lorraine Kammeraad’s life.
“I had never heard about this stuff, but was definitely impressed (so) that I wanted to go ahead and start cooking this way,” she explained.
Kammeraad was discussing her introduction to Saladmaster’s cookware.
She ordered a set of the cookware and hosted a dinner party for the company, where she invited the guests and the company gave a demonstration.
That worked so well, Kammeraad continued hosting evening dinner parties on behalf of the company. She eventually quit her job and began working full-time for them, raising her kids during the day and doing demonstration parties in the evening.
Saladmaster teaches people how to prepare healthy, delicious meals by using the cookware on low to medium heat.
A recent demonstration meal included fried chicken, vegetables, mashed potatoes, coleslaw and a cake, all prepared in less than 35 minutes “without oils, fats, grease or butter and no water, on medium to low heat,” explained Herb Deruyter, Kammeraad’s business partner.
By doing this — instead of boiling vegetables, for example — it helps preserve the food’s vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
“It is a very healthy way to cook. Rather than the old style of boiling everything and then throwing the water out — you are throwing all the vitamins and nutrients out,” he said.
“This way you maintain them all.
“And you taste that when you eat it and you get fuller faster because your body is getting everything that it needs.”
They said that with food prepared this way, people are eating less, cutting back on both their food bill and BC Hydro bill because they are not using the oven and cooking at lower temperatures.
“I love that it really affects people,” said Kammeraad.
“You are teaching people how to retain nutrition in their meals, how to keep grease out of their food.”
She said that people with digestive problems — who are used to getting up to go use the bathroom during every meal — have commented that is not the case after using the Saladmaster cookware.
The pair run Cooking 4 Life Saladmaster and have been business partners for the past four or five years, with Kammeraad doing the cooking demonstrations and Deruyter handling the business side of things, such as all the paperwork and delivering orders for the Saladmaster cookware.
And up until this spring, they had been a strictly-home based business.
But last month, they held a grand opening for their new Langley location at 102-20486 64 Ave.
They currently have a staff of about 11 full and part-time employees with a goal to have 25 employees by the end of August.
A demonstration typically lasts a couple of hours with the guests then sampling the food.
They have also begun giving demonstrations out of their Langley office, and the last one attracted 43 people.
The plan is to do eight to 10 demonstrations out of their office per year.
For more information, visit www.cooking4life.ca.
