Love for food started early

Patricia Kelly Molden is chef and proprietor of Kelly's Table at Creekwood Inn. The family table was a focal point of entertaining at her childhood home. Molden has fond memories of dining there with the Kelly family and friends.

MICHIGAN CITY -- A tad too much cognac ignited Tom Kelly's cherries jubilee with a bang.

The amusing incident is one of a fireworks of fond dining memories from the home of Tom and Audrey Kelly and their nine children.

They enjoyed preparing lavish dinners for their gourmet bridge club group. Food and friendship always prevailed.

Years later, daughter Patricia Kelly Molden strives to bring the ambiance of those unforgettable days to life again at Kelly's Table at Creekwood Inn in Michigan City.

As a seasoned chef, she has perfected preparing recipes her father once struggled to create ... bless his heart. So, don't expect fireworks, just good cuisine.

"I called the restaurant, Kelly's Table in memory of our family -- with 11 people sharing supper at our table every night," Kelly Molden said. "Even now, when we get together, it's always about food."

The chef and proprietor learned much about cooking from her fun-loving father, Tom, who is now deceased. He would journey to remote corners of Chicago to find just the right shallots or beef for his culinary creations.

Kelly Molden inherited her love of French cuisine from her dad, who studied with a French chef to learn the fine points of food creation, a la Française.

She is a classically trained chef, who studied with the late John Snowden of the former Dumas Père Ecole de la Cuisine Française in Chicago.

During summers, she traveled to France, while attending Northwestern University, where Kelly Molden earned a bachelor's degree in general and comparative literature.

"I stayed in Paris, the south of France and in Normandy, mostly in little towns, where the people were so friendly. In those days, you could enjoy Europe on $5 a day."

In 1972, Snowden invited Kelly Molden to become his apprentice.

She began catering in 1976. Kelly Molden also collaborated with Sue Spitler, author of "1,001 Recipe Books" series published by Surrey Books, Inc. of Chicago, to provide recipes for the publications.

Patricia Kelly Molden prepares this ahi tuna steak with ginger wasabi sauce served with rice and broccoli for Kelly's Table patrons. Tribune Photos/SHARON DETTMER If you go Kelly's Table, 5727 N. 600 West, Michigan City (near the convergence of U.S. 20 and 35 South at Interstate 94). Seats 52, but adjoining Creekwood Inn has conference rooms available for custom-catering for large gatherings and parties. The restaurant offers a full-service bar and is a nonsmoking facility. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Special catering events by reservation. Price range: Appetizers range from $5 to $8. Entrees are $18 to $27. Desserts range from $5 to $6. Contact: For reservations and driving directions (highly recommended), call (219) 872-5624, or go to the Web site at www.kellyscreekwood.com.

In 2003, the former wooded and secluded home of Dr. Lawrence Robrock-turned-restaurant, captured her attention and heart. He built the English manor-style house with an open-concept in 1930 off North 600 West and called his home, Creekwood.

Today, Creekwood Inn is a bustling bed and breakfast inn with conference center and a conservatory owned by Mary Lou Linnen. The enchanting location, nestled in a forest, was once home to the Ferns restaurant.

When the space became available, Kelly Molden, and her husband, Craig Molden of LaPorte, made it uniquely their own. "It seemed like just the right time. This restaurant is so charming, so homey and intimate," she said.

The deep-colored woods of hickory, hand-hewn wood beams complement the restaurant's brick fireplace. Hand-pegged wooden floors add to the Old World European ambiance of a small Irish pub and adjoining restaurant.

True to her home-style, culinary education, where Kelly Molden and her siblings were counted on to add spice to meals, the chef can be found in the kitchen creating spirals of garnish for memorable cuisine presentations.

For starters, patrons can begin their fine dining experience with crabmeat and scallop cakes in New Orleans Remoulade and other delicious appetizers, including French onion soup and butternut squash bisque.

The restaurant's diversified seasonal menu offers delightfully delectable entrees such as pecan-crusted walleye with orange butter sauce flanked by a house salad with dried cherry balsamic vinaigrette.

Other dinner selections include rosemary rack of lamb with dried cherry sauce; herbed pork loin with sauce Charcutiere with white wine, shallots and fresh tomatoes; New York strip steak with merlot herb butter; chicken Saltimbocca with lemon, butter and white wine.

Do not relinquish your napkin, just yet, though.

Dinner is not finished until offerings like blueberry Grand Marnier crème brulee are served.

Or, perhaps you prefer a brownie sundae with warm, caramel sauce.

After-dinner drinks, such as hot brandied mocha, made with Martell cognac, coffee and hot chocolate, are served as the final piece de la resistance.