Executive Chef

Where were you born and raised? If not Colorado, what brought you here?

I’m from Colorado. I grew up in Littleton and graduated from Chatfield Senior High School in 1997.

A fun story.
I started working at Silver State Baptist Camp summer camp when I was 13 as a dish washer because my family was good friends with the Camp Director. I worked there every summer until I was 17. I remember wandering over to the cook’s side, curious as to how they were preparing the foods and asking a million questions. By the time I was 15, I was cooking all of our family dinners. My parents knew from an early age I was going to be a chef. They didn’t even try to fight it or talk me out of it, they just knew.

When did you join Rocky Mountain Catering, and in what position did you start?

I graduated from the Art Institute of Denver in 2000 with an associate degree in Applied Sciences – Culinary Arts. I was the Executive Chef for Pinehurst Country Club for 12 years and one day I ran into Patrick McCreary at Restaurant Depot and he asked me to come in for a cooking interview. They offered me the Executive Sous Chef position and four months later I was offered the Executive Chef position.

What inspires you?

I like managing people who like to be challenged and in turn I enjoy challenging my employees. We have fun creating a new station appetizer on a regular basis. My team basically has a few days to come up with 3-4 ideas that I’ll choose from. We execute and present to Patrick and the sales staff, and whoever wins receives a $100 Visa gift card.

There’s nothing better than seeing my employees excited and inspired by these contests. It lets them create and invent. That’s our art. That’s our contribution. It allows us to keep our culinary creative juices flowing.