I’ve been in restaurants for 20 years. My first job was at a Pizza Hut back home in Arkansas, way out in the country. All of my buddies in high school worked together and it was a fun place to work at. Our friend’s mom was the manager, so we would hang out, drink soda, eat pizza and we listened to music from a jukebox!

After doing that for a year, I moved down here and worked in Fort Lauderdale for six years with one restaurant. Then I stopped working in restaurants for one year and a half. I was 24-25 when I decided to go back to school here in Miami at Johnson and Wales to get my bachelor’s degree in culinary in 2008.

I don’t know what else I would do if I wasn’t cooking. When I started doing this a long time ago, I remember feeling like I was a part of something, because I was a little bit of a lone guy, quiet and introverted. Now it’s about these people, they make me a little crazy, but, I love the team and I love cooking. I love challenging myself and figuring out how to make good food.

I love finding because of the ingredients. I love talking to people about food and getting into the fun teaching part of it with some of the younger guys, showing them the experience I have up to this point. For me, it’s home away from home.

Now with my wife, our team here, and our business partner, we’ve been able to really get behind the vision that I have and work together to bring it to life. It’s been a lot of fun.