With what feeling do you want your customers to leave?
As a chef, I want people to leave having enjoyed their meal. As a member of the Park View Patio team, I want people to leave feeling as though they have [had] great service from a nice, respectful, knowledgeable and courteous front of the house staff.
Do you have goals for expansion?
My initial expansion plan is to open my first restaurant within a year of publishing my first cookbook this coming summer.
What would you say to our young black youth who may want to go into the culinary arts?
There are two routes one can take when entering the world of culinary arts. One would be to go in debt and attend culinary school. I emphasis the debt aspect because most culinary schools are for profit and the percentages of people actually graduating those programs are pretty low. It can cost as much as $90,000 to attend a three year program at schools like Le Cordon Bleu or Culinary Institute of America. That in no way is to say that these are not great programs, but it’s up to the person interested in this industry to decide if it’s worth it. I’m more of an advocate of the second option which is to become an apprentice under a chef who can teach you something from a real world perspective. As a vocation, becoming a chef is one part inspiration, one part recipe and four parts technique. Learning practical techniques can only come from on-the-job training and apprenticing with an experienced chef. Some may not agree with me, but this is the way I see it because it has worked more than well for me. One last thing: be prepared to work harder and longer hours than you ever have in your life. This is a job that requires ones to stand on their feet at least 90 percent plus of the time. Having a social life and sleep; you can forget about it. It’s a very different world in the kitchen.
