Making an impact: “My goal coming in was to help Howard become a showcase account for Sodexo and to make our program more community-driven and more student-focused. I’ve worked with many colleagues to achieve these goals and partnered with student groups. We hosted a farmers’ market on campus and I did a cooking demonstration. The students loved the opportunity to taste produce and samples of my mango jicama salad and learn about the farms from which Howard Dining sources produce.”

Lesson learned: “Working hard pays off and hard work keeps you consistent.”

Best advice received: “‘Work beside your team, let your team have confidence in you as a leader and teach your team how to develop their skills.’ I learned this from one of the first chefs I worked under, Chef Marcus Wormley.”

Fave celeb chef: “Chef Marcus Samuelsson and I adore Carla Hall. I love their techniques in cooking and their twists on their respective cuisines.”

Fave chef movie/book: “I love ‘Ratatouille,’ because it’s about an unlikely chef and his great skills. ‘Good Things to Eat’ by Rufus Eftes is the first cookbook written and published by an African American chef.”

Chef’s day-off food: “I’m out on the grill and I’m grilling anything, especially ribs and chicken!”

Fast food go-to: “I get a Gyro Salad at Jiffy’s, which is a Maryland-based fast-casual restaurant.”

Chain restaurant choice: “I like going to California Pizza Kitchen because they offer items geared toward vegans and guests on keto like cauliflower pizza crust.”

Loving this trend: “Brussels sprouts. They’re so versatile in different cooking methods, and they’re so much better to work with than the boiled Brussels my mom used to make me growing up. I like to curry them and roast them in the oven and serve them alongside pork ribs or turkey meatloaf. They go well with all of it, especially cauliflower rice!”

Recent getaway: “I took a family trip to Dominical, Punterenas, Costa Rica in July; the food was incredible!”

Bucket list travel: Alaska.

Trend prediction for 2020: “Plant-based proteins in any flavor and any style.”

Early life: Born in the Philippines but grew up mostly in Los Angeles.

Becoming a chef: “Watching my mother cook and watching Jacques Pepin and Julia Child on TV, then grabbing my mother’s ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ cookbook and following recipes.”

Starting the workday: “Starts with going to bed for at least seven hours. Getting a good night’s sleep is important! I stretch in the morning to loosen the aches and I try to have fruit and veggie juice on the way to work.”

What it means to be a chef: “I tell all my staff that although I create the procedures, they know better than I ever will how to run it. I need to live and walk their steps to truly know the challenges and issues. If I do it from my desk, I’ll miss opportunities.

Fave nostalgic food: “SPAM. I spent two and a half years in culinary school eating mostly rich French cuisine…my first trip home, I asked my mom for SPAM and over-easy eggs and garlic fried rice!”

Chef’s day-off food: “Breakfast for my husband and me. The works! The rest of the weekend, we eat out.”

Fave fast-casual/chain: “Applebee’s only because I love their French onion soup and Texas de Brazil for a higher-end chain.”

Go-to fast food: “In-N-Out.”

Loving this trend: “Okra. When I was younger I couldn’t get over the sliminess of it, but now I can eat it not fried.”

Trend predictions for 2020: “Most people want to know where their food comes from and about sustainable practices.”

Becoming a chef: “I started as a dishwasher when I was 15. I soon thereafter decided I wanted to be a chef. I worked my way up to cooking by the end of high school and then I went to culinary school. I earned my first sous chef position at 23.”

What it means to be a chef: “The role of a chef is to teach, lead and produce. You must have your head totally wrapped around everything all the time. Your team looks to you for the answers, so you’d better be ready to have them. You also must find ways to know and understand each employee. Just like every ingredient in your kitchen, if you don’t understand your employees’ wants, needs and skill level, you won’t be able to lead and mentor them to grow.”

Starting the workday: “Every day I come to work I walk the kitchen, check the schedule, check sales and write prep lists. Then as my crew arrives, I personally greet each person and try to have a personal conversation with each employee. After that I explain the day’s needs and we move forward as a team.”

Making an impact: “I shared a recipe to be part of the #SpectraEats recipe video series to get Spectra more recognized in the food world. The potatoes-crusted mini quiche recipe was adapted to be friendly for a home-cook from my menu item at the restaurant Prelude at McCaw Hall. We serve it in a skillet as a single serving, so I changed it to be made in muffin pans instead. You can watch it here. 

Best advice received: “Chef Tim Olmstead told me years ago when I first became a sous chef that I was too introverted, and I’d better develop a work personality and get the crew to follow me. He wasn’t wrong, but I sure didn’t like hearing it at the time. Chef Tim followed that up with, ‘I don’t care how you do it but keep my walk-ins organized whether you do it or make the staff, but I want to see clean and organized at all times.’ Again, he was right, and I think about those two things at least once a week for probably the last 15 years.”

Fave celeb chef: “Chef Walter Staib from ‘A Taste of History.’ Chef Staib cooks everything in a hearth over open fire in cast iron. He also uses very traditional recipes from Martha Washington and others from 100 to 200 years ago and reproduces their recipes with traditional techniques.”

Best dive bar: “Top of Tacoma Bar. It’s kind of a dive, but they have excellent food and always a strong beer and whisky selection.”

Go-to fast food: “If I have to it’ll be Jack In the Box.”

Loving this trend: “Radishes. I didn’t ever think much of them before about two years ago. I love radishes sautéed in butter with lemon and herbs. Not that long ago at home I rubbed a chicken with chipotle and lime and roasted it. I served it with radishes and spaghetti squash that I finished with butter, lime and cilantro. It was delicious!”

Recent getaway: “My last best vacation was in Hawaii. We have some friends that live on Oahu. We spent a week with them, and it was great.”

Trend prediction for 2020: “I think we’re going to continue see an increase in craft and small-farm foods. Meats, produce, liquor, beer, wine. I believe people want to enjoy the bounty from their areas. People want to be able to know what’s the best thing from their area and enjoy it with others.”

Early life: Born in Tijuana, Mexico, moved to San Diego at 11 years of age.

Becoming a chef: “Mentored by great chefs across many different industries.”

Starting the workday: “Wake up 4:45 a.m., shower, make breakfast for my kids, heavy breakfast for me, I’m a breakfast guy, green drink religiously, meditate for 20 minutes, text my boss my site visits plan for the day and hit the road.”

What it means to be a chef: “You can take the cook out of the kitchen but cannot take the kitchen out of the cook. Staying close and connected to culinary execution is what makes us good leaders. One of my motivators to stay fit has always been to be able to step into a kitchen and cook at a professional level even at an advanced age.”

Making an impact: “I’m always working on putting people first. To develop our human capital in thoughtful, respectful, cordial yet professional way is of the outmost importance to me. I want to be a partner and a facilitator for people to succeed.”

Lesson learned (the hard way): “Look both ways before crossing the street! I was run over by a car at 10 years old. Broken femur and multiple lacerations and a very slow recovery. Now I apply this rule before taking action on important decision on my life, well…most of the time.”

Chef’s day-off food: “It’s time to fire up the charcoal grill for me. We are talking whole chickens, ribs, chorizo, spicy Italian sausage, carne asada and pork adobada over mesquite charcoals. Veggies too! Onions, zucchini, peppers, portabella mushrooms, corn, eggplant, sweet potatoes and definitely baked potatoes.”   

Go-to fast food: “In and Out and proud of it.”

Best restaurant: “Las Cuatro Milpas in Barrio Logan. The most authentic Mexican food ever.”

Recent getaway: Napa Valley

Bucket list travel: Florence, Italy

Trend prediction for 2020: “I sure would like to see Filipino food get its due. It’s so underrated. I dream of sisig, crispi pata, pancit, pork adobo, etc. Nothing goes to waste in the Filipino culture because they use a lot of creativity and good technique in their cuisine.”

Early life: Richmond, Va.

Becoming a chef: “My mother was a chef in a past career, so I learned a lot from her and my grandmother. But I would say I really learned how to be a chef from watching Julia Child, Yan Can Cook and Galloping Gourmet on PBS.”

What it means to be a chef: “I don’t get to cook as often as I would like, so I rely on home cooking, special events and training to keep myself sharp. I also am an avid food history buff. I always take cooking classes when I travel abroad and make a point of learning something new and trying new foods and flavors. There is very little I won’t eat. I have been very fortunate to have the honor of traveling abroad in Barcelona, and learning the difference between Catalan and Spanish cuisine through a grant that I won through the university. I spent 10 days absorbing everything I could (literally and figuratively!), and I met the most incredible people who were generous with their time and their kitchens. I studied third spaces and what makes a great café design, sitting in beautiful cafés all around town and taking notes. This experience, and many others ,have influenced how I create space for our campus.”

Starting the workday: “I always start my day with a cuddle with my dogs, Olive and Rosco, and get them breakfast. If its summer, I check the garden to see what’s new. Any other time of year, I’m drinking a protein shake and a cup of coffee to get going. I find that I skip a lot of meals and I’m trying not to do that. I think a lot of chefs and foodservice people are very concerned with getting the doors open to feed others we forget to feed ourselves. Now that I’m older, I recognize the toll this has taken on my body. It makes me so cranky not to eat regularly. I will often read what Eater puts out before getting to work, or an article from a trade magazine. I love the quiet hours of the morning and the evening to catch up on food news.”

Making an impact: “I think my work with local businesses has been effective. I use over 50 local businesses in my locations, and every single one has been recruited by myself or my team. That is pretty cool.”

Lesson learned: “You can’t change people’s personalities, but you can change behaviors. Now when I hire people, I spend a lot more time getting to know them and doing more behavioral interviewing instead of just seeing what experience they have. I think in foodservice you can get impatient to just get a body in a spot. But personalities really count. One passive-aggressive or outwardly aggressive person can ruin an entire kitchen’s day, and your customer’s experience. Food doesn’t taste good when you’re angry. Now, I would rather train what someone doesn’t know and hire someone that can really have a good attitude.”

Best advice received: “Pick your battles. I still struggle with this. But passion is such a big part of being in a creative field—it wouldn’t be me not to be passionate. But I’m trying more and more to think of a bigger picture.”

Fave celeb chefs: “Samin Nosrat and Christina Tosi. Both of them are fearless and have really been so thoughtful about their work. They bring a level of fun and education that is so empowering and so infectious. They are definitely my fantasy BFFs. And Julia Child. Another fearless and funny woman.”

Fave fictional chef: “The Swedish Chef, of course!”

Fave book/show: “There are so many good ones! Book: ‘The Zen of Fish,’ a history of sushi and ultimately human determination. And any of Anthony Bourdain’s shows on TV. I loved all of his shows, and I miss him a lot.”

Recent getaway: “Recently traveled to Huatulco and Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca, Mexico. Incredible food, amazing people and great markets. Oaxacan cuisine is so varied, so special and often secretive. It reminds me that slow food is slow for a reason and gave me inspiration for appreciating layered flavors and slow-cooked food.

Upcoming travel: “I’m going to Cape Town South Africa to experience that place, the food, the history and culture. I could not be more excited.”

Chef’s day off food: “Dutch Baby pancakes! A showstopper for sure, and infinitely customizable. It is basically a culinary magic trick and is very pleasing to make. I love breakfast foods and cooking breakfast, so hopefully we have lots of family and friends around to share with us.”

Go-to fast food: “I have really been impressed with the Impossible Whopper lately! It is shockingly good. We’re lucky here in Richmond because we have a Southern chain called Cook Out, which has cook-out style burgers like you were in someone’s backyard and killer shakes.”

Best tacos: “What I really want is Torchy’s Tacos. I get them in Austin, Texas, and I think about their tacos a lot.”

Trend predictions for 2020: “Well, anywhere the Olympics go, the food trends follow. I’m fully expecting Japanese cuisine to take center stage, especially street food and snacks. They have also completely captured the vending machine market and I think we could learn a lot about how Japanese culture supports these types of food experiences.”

Early life: Maine and east coast of New Hampshire in a small town called Newmarket.

Becoming a chef: “Funny question because most will think I learned how to be a chef from school. Except I didn’t…school provided me with tools to ask better questions. Then I got my butt kicked on the line until I finally had the guts to call myself out. Was I going to be just like every other misunderstood cook on that line closing the bar after every shift? No, not me. If I’m going to do something I’ll only settle for being great. Even if that means I have to work for it every day for the rest of my life. Once you get to that line and decide that going back to ordinary just really isn’t an option anymore, that’s when you become a chef.”

Lesson learned: “Trust. Because it’s easy to trust until you get burned and realize there may not be anyone else out there that believes in what you believe in as much.”

Best advice received: “You’re only as good as your last meal. The happiness is not money, it is not time, it’s being aware of the moment and realizing that you are here.”

New project: “GO Buddha is my latest personal project, a plant-based food delivery service to provide affordable nutrition.” [Stay tuned for more on this project in FM.]

Making an impact: “I work for a great company and deliver great customer experiences at the ballpark, and I will change the way our community will have access to food through GO Buddha.”

Fave celeb chef: Alton Brown.

Fave fictional chef: Remy the Rat from ‘Ratatouille.’

Cleveland restaurant recos: Town Hall in Cleveland and Salt in Lakewood.

Go-to fast food: “Taco Bell black bean Crunch Wrap Supreme.”

Trend predictions for 2020: Everything plant-based.

Early life: Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Becoming a chef: My dad was also a chef, I grew up in a home where my dad was always at work, but when he was home he would let me get on a chair and help out. During my sophomore year I had a ‘field trip;’ the school I attended had a vocational program and one of them was Culinary Arts, and the best in the state of Texas. I remember when I walked to that kitchen the chefs were making bread. I was invited to try it and as soon as I submerged my hands in the dough I felt a calling, it is weird to explain… but that was my aha moment.”

What it means to be a chef: “The chef is crucial to our operation; in my case I have both front- and back-of-the-house experience. I see and understand things differently compared to someone that has not. Unfortunately, being part of management, you do not have the same allotted time to be in the back cooking every day. I do miss it, so from time to time I take over the action station or make something on the back. It is difficult to stay sharp, my cuts are not the same, and my pace also has changed. I can still cook and make things happen, but I don’t feel I am as fast as I used to. We tend to be very hard with ourselves. But, now it is our turn as leaders to plant the seeds and water the soil hoping the plants become a garden tomorrow.”

Starting the workday: “Always start my day with a glass of water and a green juice, smoothie or a shake. As soon as I walk in the kitchen I make sure to say, “Buenos dias, good morning,’ to all our employees and check if they need anything and how is the day going. I go to the front and check the team, food, presentation, the floor, greet customers and, depending on how things are going, I will ask to make a change, take care of a customer and touch basis with the supervisor. I always have a notepad with me to write everything and not lose track. It keeps me focused on a daily goal.”

Lesson learned: “Be humble. God’s plan is not always your plan. Growth is painful. Change is painful, but it will make you stronger and wiser.”

Chef’s day-off food: “A nice antipasto platter, my favorite salad, New York steak medium rare, rosemary butter potatoes and grilled veggies, raspberry chocolate cupcakes with a vanilla amaretto cream cheese frosting and of course wine.”

Loving this trend: Nopales cactus.

Trend predictions for 2020: “I feel veganism is taking over the market in an unexpected way, it will be interesting to see what happens next year.”

Early life: Dominican Republic.

Becoming a chef: “I am still learning, but I got my training and graduated from culinary school at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan.”

Starting the workday: “My days start at 6:30 a.m. I take my daughter to the bus stop every morning. I like to walk my building every morning, as it gives me a sense of peace and it allows me to identify any challenges before the team arrives.”

Meditation: “Butchering is one the most calming things for me, as it helps me focus and think clearly. And I love to eat avocado anything and everything, quinoa and cassava mash to get my mind right.”

Lesson learned: “I’m a cancer survivor and I learned the hard way the meaning of gratitude. I realized what really matters is your family and you must be thankful for everything God brings into your life.”

Lesson learned: “I’m a cancer survivor and I learned the hard way the meaning of gratitude. I realized what really matters is your family and you must be thankful for everything God brings into your life.”

Best advice received: “Create a culture at work where you are able to lead with your heart. Loyalty and productivity will follow right behind it.”

Fave celeb chef: “Thomas Keller. I love his tenacity and the simplicity of his work and legacy.”

Bucket list travel: India.

Miami restaurant reco: “KYU in Wynwood Miami. Fantastic Japanese fried chicken concept.”

Fave nostalgic food: “Green mangos with salt remind me of my childhood at the farm back in DR running barefoot with my cousins.”

Trend predictions for 2020: “I believe that we are looking at the trend of food telling, so you can connect with the local providers and the intimacy between the chef and guest. Simple food is coming back. People will pay for the gratification of the here and now and healthier food.”