SPANISH FORT, Ala.—You may recognize Chef Andrew Selz from his previous Food Network show “Navy Chef Challenge.” Now, Selz lends his culinary skills to Cellar 43 in the Eastern Shore Centre.

For a guy who loves working with seafood, he said that Spanish Fort, with its close vicinity to the Gulf of Mexico, is the best location.  

“This is an area where people love food,” Selz said. “I think this is absolutely the area I want to be.”

At work, he offers lessons where the class can pick a dish style and he will prepare ingredients needed for the cuisine.

Selz held a private culinary cooking class where organizers requested a Spanish-themed menu. Selz, with the help of Terry Brown, resident wine specialist, and George McKee, retail owner of Cellar 43, paired Spanish wines to accommodate the menu. Selz had a paella, stuffed pork tenderloin, salad and flan prepared for the day’s menu.

Terry York, the class organizer, said the food was just what he was looking for and more.

Selz introduced the class to foods and spices they never experienced before, including saffron, and taught the class how to properly dice an onion; tie a stuffed roast with kitchen twine after pounding it with a mallet; make homemade salad dressing; crack garlic cloves without getting ‘garlic fingers’; and remove the cartilage from a squid for calamari.

“It’s not about me just teaching them how to cook; it’s about us cooking together,” Selz said.

Selz, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native, realized his interest in cooking while working in a restaurant as a dish washer. Rather than washing dishes, as he should, he watched the pastry chef in action.

“This made me get behind in the dishes and fall in love with cooking,” Selz said.

Selz  put his interests to use and attended New York’s Culinary Institute of America, from where he graduated with an associate degree and at which he later served as an instructor.

Selz served then-president, Bill Clinton, from 1993 to 1994 at the seasonal Renaissance Retreat in Hilton Head, S.C. He has also cooked for other military leaders and foreign royalty.

After lending his skills to various entities in the United States, Selz has settled down in Spanish Fort and says this is where he feels at home.

A boundless cook, he said he prepares everything from appetizers, tapas—small plates—to the main course, sides, soups, salads and desserts.

Along with his TV show, Selz has made appearances on CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS. He is pitching a series to Food Network featuring food and wine combinations.

Selz also has his own line of cooking merchandise, including his cookbook “Plank Cooking with Chef Selz,” cedar cooking planks and a variety of sauces including Spicy Mango Peanut Sauce, Thai Essence and Thai Citrus Dressing.

 Selz prepares a variety of tapas at Cellar 43 with crab cakes, stuffed dates, hummus trio, olive tapenade and a goat cheese tower, among others.

“We want to provide an affordable night and great experience,” Selz said. “You have to let the food and wine do the talking.”

Cellar 43 is at 30500 Alabama Highway 181 Suite 606 in the Eastern Shore Centre.

For more information on Selz visit his official Web site at www.chefselz.com.