Our Founder

Meet Chef Helene Clarkin-Chaisson

Chef Helene Clarkin-Chaisson has blazed a trail operating at the intersection of culinary expertise and corporate innovation. With her unique background, Helene bridges both worlds by creating, developing, and bringing to market a diverse lineup of dishes, recipes, and products that have become hits with consumers.

Trained at the renowned Culinary Institute of America, Helene has developed Gold Standard Recipes for brands such as Fleischmann’s Yeast®, Weber Seasonings®, and Spice Islands Spices & Herbs®, and Magic Seasoning Blends® Chef Paul Prudhomme. Her product development expertise led to the creation of the antibiotic-free all-natural deli meats for West Liberty Foods. That particular product line was not only at the forefront of the ABF trend but went on to become one of the most successful product launches for the largest supermarket chain in the United States - Kroger. Helene’s newest product development is an all-natural flour line under Baked Good Brands. She developed a line of gluten-free, better-for-you all-purpose flour replacements featured on Hungry Girl.com. The gluten-free flours are a 1-to-1 cup replacement for all-purpose flour.

Helene’s passion for product development led to the launch of dozens of new dishes for brands as diverse as retail brands Guy Fieri and Frank’s Red Hot to custom private label for the store chains of Trader Joe’s and Costco. With a keen sense of what busy consumers want constantly and researching food trends on a daily basis, Helene has collaborated with food scientists, food stylists, sales, marketing, and customer support staff to ensure each new product is made with quality and introduced with care.

As a former member of IBM’s Latin America marketing division, Helene honed her business acumen as a Marketing Project Leader, by organizing and overseeing high-profile corporate conferences. That business savvy combined with a love for all things culinary led Helene to launch a number of businesses, including Tasteful Creations, a Los Angeles, California-based catering company specializing in offsite catering, and Let’s All Cook, a Los Angeles-area after-school program (hands-on cooking classes) designed to bring the joys of cooking to children.

Helene’s experience living on both the East and West coasts and the Midwest of the United States, and now in the South, has given her a firm understanding of the journey food travels from farm to table all across the country. Helene is a member of the Research Chef Association and ACF. Helene and her husband, Don, currently live in Greenville, SC with their two Australian shepherds.