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When did you know you wanted to be a chef/restaurant owner? Shortly after I started cooking school. For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged and I was immediately addicted to it. Prior to cooking school, you had aspirations to be a racecar driver and an architect. When did you ���������������������������������������������������������� dive into the culinary world? It was sort of a last resort. I was a terrible student and very dyslexic. Additionally, I moved every 2-3 years growing up so I never had any consistent education. When I finally struggled my way out of high school, I moved to New York and started doing a lot of handyman work. I eventually thought to myself, “This sucks, I gotta do something else." I’ve always loved to cook, and more so I’ve always loved to eat. I didn’t want to be hungry, so I thought if I learned how to cook I’ll at least be able to eat and hopefully make some money while I’m at it. At my brother’s suggestion, I looked into Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, which was offering a threemonth course for $5,000. Around that time I found out my grandmother had died and left me $5,000 for my education. It seemed like a perfect match so I invested the money into the three-month course, and that’s how I got into it. It was essentially a means of not wanting to be hungry. �������������������������������������������������������������� about being a chef and what is the most rewarding? The most difficult is that it’s a 24/7 job, but luckily I love what I do so I never feel like I’m working. The most rewarding is being able to feed people and know that you’re creating memories for them around the dinner table. If you had to describe your cooking style in one sentence what would it be? “Let the ingredients be your inspiration!” What is it like being a judge on the popular food show "Chopped"? It’s exciting! I’m extremely thankful to be a part of a show on the Food Network. It is great for all ages and exposes cooking and ingredients to everyone, no matter where you’re from or where you live. What’s the best part of being a judge on "Chopped"? The best part for me is to see the talent, the characters and their stories. And to see the different foods. There are a lot of aspects. You get some beautiful life stories where you see that cooking and the food industry has even saved their lives. Then there’s the beauty of talking about food all day, which is something that I am passionate about. I love talking about the health component, where it’s making people more aware of what people should be putting on their plates and in their mouths. And I love giving people a vehicle to see these different talents and different ingredients. There’s also the entertainment element. I had a guy come up to me in the airport one day and thank me. He said that he and his daughter watch "Chopped" together every time a new episode airs. He said it was their connection. That’s a pretty powerful thing. What inspired you to open Grey Salt in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino? I always wanted to open a Mediterranean restaurant. Tampa made a lot of sense with the proximity to fresh ingredients and a climate similar to the Mediterranean. "I always try to strive for a total, overall experience." Grey Salt Lemon Wall SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 localsDISH 15


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