A modern taste of Paris

Khari Odom was working as an event coordinator while in college, when a private chef cancelled on an event at the last minute.

Instead of finding a replacement, Odom stood in himself, preparing spiced Chilean sea bass with garlic couscous and a tomatillo pan sauce.

“That’s when I realized that’s where my passion was and decided to pursue a culinary career,” said Odom, a Clovis resident who attended Buchanan and graduated from Bullard High School.

Cooking was nothing new for him. His grandfather, Jean Pierre Cassoue, had owned five restaurants in Paris and New York. Thus, everyone on Odom’s mother’s side of the family learned how to cook, he said.

Odom began his tutelage under chef Robert Sacaro in Los Angeles in 2012, and then moved home to attend Institute of Technology in Clovis.

He launched Modern Bite Catering and Chefs in November 2014.

“I realized that in the Fresno area there’s a need, a lack of my type of catering services,” he said. “Many clients wanted large, family-style dishes, but I convinced them that it would be more effective and more aesthetically pleasing to downsize and offer a variety of elegant hors d’oeuvres. I take classical inspirations and put a modern twist on it.”

With his French roots, classical French cuisine seemed natural.

“That’s where my talents lie,” Odom said “There are nuances of French cuisine in everything, but no one focuses on it because it’s intimidating.”

His favorite thing to prepare is braised lamb shank with a red wine demi-glace, and crispy pork belly with fennel jus.

But his favorite thing to eat?

“Korean food,” he said with a smile, noting that he lived in South Korea for a year and a half while serving in the U.S. Army.

Odom and his team of three chefs and six cooks cater weddings, dinner parties and other events and are hired as private chefs. He stays in the Fresno and Clovis area, but will occasionally travel to the Los Angeles area or San Francisco for large events.

“I don’t have a specific clientele, I cater to everyone possible,” Odom said. “I cater to anyone in this area who has a desire to expand their palate and aren’t afraid to try new things.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "A modern taste of Paris."