Fin & Hoof
801 N. Saint Asaph St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 549-6622

When did you first become interested in cooking? Why did you decide to pursue a culinary career?

When I was younger, I worked at the Original Ledo Restaurant as a busser/phone order taker; so I always had to go through the kitchen and I would watch the cooks and saw how much fun they were having and said to myself I want to do that someday. It was just something I got into that I didn’t have to go to school for. I was always good at learning things on my own and it stuck with me over my career.

Who have been the biggest inspirations for your career?

I would have to say my parents. They had it rough bringing up myself, my brother and my sister. There were times where they would work non-stop and didn’t have time to cook us a meal. I would just watch them closely and jot things down in my head and try to duplicate what they normally would make us for lunch or dinner.

What are some of the qualities that you feel a successful chef should have?

Patience/tolerance - when putting out a menu, you need to realize not everyone is going to like it; and not all of your cooks are going to be as knowledgeable as you.

Knowledge - you need to know what you’re working with as far as the food, the equipment, the area, the vendors, prices, what the concept of your restaurant is and how to incorporate it into your menu and make sense.

Respect – while working with your team, they need to know who the boss is in the kitchen; not by screaming and yelling at them but being stern and laying down the law. The respect will show when they realize you’re not a paper chef when you get in the trenches with them and help them battle out of the weeds when they need it. You need to show them that they can run your restaurant just as you do by letting them come up with specials or having them take charge of the line while you expedite. You should let them know about rave reviews and let them take the credit for something you created. Basically making your team feel important to your establishment.

What do you enjoy most about your work? What are your greatest stresses? Your greatest joys?

What I enjoy most is training cooks the way I was trained by other chefs and watching them succeed down the line as I have.

My greatest stress is when I have to deal with staff members who like to live in the past. The old “we always did it like this” routine; and having to wean those types off of past experiences.

My greatest joys are when I’m called from the kitchen to hear praise about my food. When my place gets word of mouth business. And when my food and labor lines are in place.

If any chef in the world could prepare you a meal, who would it be?

I would have to go with two celebrity chefs: Iron Chef Bobby Flay and Chef Gordon Ramsey

With everything that you’ve accomplished in your career, are you still learning as a chef?

Of course, becoming an Executive Chef is not the end of the road for me. I still have to travel and learn about different cultures foods to even consider myself a great chef. The administrative stuff is the easy part, figuring out how to make truffle oil, coconut and radicchio into a dessert in less then 30 minutes; that’s a challenge.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?

Fried foods and junk food. My wife would tell you that I could literally live off of Gibbles Red Hot Potato Chips

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