Chef's Choice: In the Kitchen Cooking School

Kathy Gold’s reveals its beauty to visitors a mere ten steps beyond the doorway: carrara marble countertops, gleaming, stainless steel appliances, and seemingly endless stores of premium ingredients.

There's no entrance exam to get into this culinary academy; just try to keep up with the petite, sassy chef as she effervesces throughout the space.

"You just come in and cook!” Gold laughs.

Drawing interest from amateur gastronomes throughout the tri-state area, Gold challenges all comers by insisting that they cook foods sourced from within 100 miles of home.

Although she invites her students to pursue local recipes, Gold's breadth of experience is far more cosmopolitan. A graduate of George Washington University who has degrees in Chinese language and literature, she was trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

She's brought this expertise to bear on the walk-up traffic on Mechanic Street in Haddonfield for the past four years, and if you haven't yet been, you're missing quite an opportunity.

Patch writer Julie Dengler contributed to this report.