So who am I?

Food is life

What am I here for?

I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life in the culinary world in one form or another. And along the way I have seen and done more in my life than I ever expected. Food was the catalyst to discovering more about myself, the world around me and different cultures. Without food, I would not be who I am today. In my 20 years in this industry, I learned that food is the great unifier. The dinner table is what brings people together. It doesn’t matter who you are or what your beliefs are, because the food doesn’t care. A great meal can bring the worst of enemies together, even if just for a moment. History is passed down from generation to generation via the plate. That is what food means to me. Culture. Love. Ancestry. The dinner table brings so much more than sustenance and survival. It provides those of us who have dedicated our lives to this industry a place to bring our passion, our stories and our traditions to one centralized thing: the dinner plate.

I started as a dishwasher at a very well-known establishment in Skaneateles, New York at 14 years old. At the time, you could work in restaurants but not on the line as a minor. I saw the chaos and insanity behind the line and never wanted anything to do with that. I was just a kid looking to get some money to help pay bills and buy cool stuff. I learned how to do basic prep stuff like portioning and chopping vegetables during my down time and on slow nights. And then one night I was thrown onto the line due to the fry/salad cook, also known as the Pantry Station, had a massive medical emergency and the restaurant was about to be extremely busy for the night due to the Christmas season. The Executive Chef who ran the kitchen knew I had the most basic of experience doing prep so he parked me on Pantry, pointed out what I had to make on the menu and told me not to mess anything up. I had approximately 20 minutes to memorize the salads and where the ingredients where on my station as well as how to plate them, the locations of various fried foods and how to know they were done cooking and how to read a ticket.

Somehow, I survived the night. We did over 300 covers that night and although I absolutely struggled in the beginning, once I got into a rhythm the plates began to move. I fell in love. I needed MORE. After dinner service was finished, the Executive Chef looked at me and said “Good job tonight. Be back here at noon tomorrow, you’re doing it all over again” with a stern tone and expression and I never looked back. I spent 4 months in that dish pit wanting absolutely nothing to do with cooking or the line. And now I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

I have traveled across the country, working in restaurants in New York, Montana and Arizona. I have cooked everything from American classics, southern soul food, authentic Mexican, TexMex, barbecue, real Asian, sushi, Italian, French, and many other cultures in my years. And I can’t get enough. I still cook to this day, not only professionally but also at home. I’ve worked in diners, fine dining, country clubs, steak houses and in catering. Food is my passion. So take a seat at my dinner table and hear the stories and passions of my career. I’m here to talk about food.

2 thoughts on “So who am I?

    1. I’m not quite there yet, as we JUST started this this morning. But I absolutely plan to have a bunch of our usual go-to meals as well as new things we try posted under the recipes in the future!

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