COEUR d’ALENE — Motown legend Smokey Robinson enjoys a deliciously well-made lamb chop.

Coeur d'Alene Chef Lesa LeBeau knows this because he told her so.

“Smokey Robinson walked in and said, ‘Can you please tell me how you made those lamb chops? Can I have some more?'" LeBeau said, lingering Thursday afternoon in the demonstration kitchen of the Culinary Stone. "He would hang out in the kitchen with me. I’ve met him a couple times. He’s a nice man, such a nice man."

LeBeau, originally from Creston, British Columbia, is no stranger to the excitement of Hollywood and the big-city culinary scene. In her 20 years as a chef, she has created dishes and pleased the palates of many a celebrity in the Los Angeles area.

"It was intimidating at the beginning because you’re a small-town girl from Canada, then you’re in California around all these movie stars,” she said. "But I found that once I had a white coat on, they were more ‘rock star’ to me, ‘Hey chef chef chef!’ I was kind of overwhelmed, like they think I’m something. It was kind of funny because I thought I would be 'the help.'"

LeBeau graduated from Westlake Culinary Institute, just outside Los Angeles, in 1997. She went to work at 2087-An American Bistro, a top-tier restaurant that was the focus of a Los Angeles Times article during her tenure. LeBeau's dishes and culinary capability made her an asset to kitchen crews as she concocted mouth-watering Thai dishes and other global cuisines for big events in Malibu and Bel Air.

"My cioppino was a really big thing that people loved," she said of the reception to her version of the Italian-American shellfish stew. "I catered that and it was a huge demand."

LeBeau catered many charity functions and fundraisers for some of the biggest causes and celebs. She worked at former Clippers owner Donald Sterling's famous annual White Party, brushing elbows with stars such as Barbra Streisand and musician David Foster. She catered "Real Housewives" shindigs and parties for producers, directors and the Kardashians. She also spent time in the massive kitchen of the Playboy Mansion.

"It’s things you thought you’d never see or do in your life, like every idol I’ve wanted to meet, I’ve met — Paul Stanley from KISS, or any celebrity that I wanted to meet that was on my bucket list, I got to meet them all," she said. "The Playboy Mansion is a whole other story, but yet fascinating. They would have a lot of poker tournaments and everything was a charity."

After all the excitement of Hollywood, LeBeau was happy to return to the Northwest. She and her husband Gary settled in Coeur d'Alene a few years ago, and Lesa's love for cooking followed. She works as a personal chef, caters private parties and gives demonstrations at the Culinary Stone in Riverstone a few classes a month.

"I absolutely adore it. I am home, my heart is here," she said. "I cater all the time and I’ve met amazing women, a huge group of friends I’ve made that are in my life now. I love that I can bring this into the community. I love that I can bring these different ethnicities and cuisines that people were really longing for."

Culinary Stone owner Sandra Gunn said she loves having Lesa among the capable and diverse chefs who present at the Culinary Stone. She said she enjoys the melting pot of recipes Lesa creates and the way she shares them with the community.

"Lesa has a contagiousness about her that inspires people to want to cook," Gunn said. "She has high energy, she’s fun, she’s creative. A lot of chefs are incredible chefs but they’re very structured in how they cook. It can intimidate the customer, like, ‘I can’t make that pastry roll, I can’t do that technique,’ whereas Lesa is showing you the techniques but she does it in a way that’s inviting and makes it look approachable. She makes it real."

Lesa especially enjoys making Asian dishes but is also proficient in European styles. Thai, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Mediterranean — you name it, she's got a recipe for it.

"'Food is love,'" she said with a smile. "That's my tagline."

Info: lesalebeau@icloud.com