Q. Favorite ingredient? 
A. Garlic is probably my number one go to. It’s very hard for me not to use it in everyday life even if I’m eating a simple sandwich. Whatever aioli I am using I add a bit of fresh garlic to it. I love how fresh or roasted garlic just gives a dish that extra level of flavor that I personally love. 

Q. What recipes have you taught?
A. My first one was teaching the class how to make homemade mac and cheese and chicken nuggets from scratch. Second class was making chili from scratch.

Q. First job in culinary?
A. I started out working in the industry late, not til I was around 26 yrs old. My first job was working at Wendy’s fast food, from there I went to a real restaurant as FOH but was always in the back learning and hanging out with all the prep cooks and chefs.

Q. What came next?
A. When our head chef got fired, I was given the opportunity to pass to the kitchen to learn how to be a prep cook. They gave me 3 months to learn prep and be comfortable enough to get on the line and be able to give the cooks breaks.

Q. Path to Chefdom?
A.  I knew I wanted to be a chef when I decided to tell my boss that I wanted to make a special dinner. I planned out the dinner, wrote the menu, went shopping. I came back and cooked all the food, went on the line and showed the night cooks on how to present it. Then I was still a server two nights a week so I would get on the floor on those nights and sell my customers the special for the eve. The satisfaction I got from selling out a full meal that I had prepared was so amazing, I wanted to do it all the time.

Q. Advice for younger self?
A. I would probably tell myself to pay attention just a bit more. Be more creative with my taste buds so that I wouldn’t limit myself to what I like and what I don’t like. When cooking we should be open to all cuisines. Research and more research because everything has already been done, you just need to find that way to make it your own.