Chattanooga, TN / April 2024 to December 2024

As sous chef at Ernest, I had the opportunity to combine my leadership skills with my passion for bold, ingredient-driven cuisine. Ernest’s focus on reimagining Chinese-American dishes using fresh, seasonal ingredients allowed me to contribute to a menu that balanced tradition with creativity. Drawing on my experience at Kaizen in Knoxville, where I gained a deep appreciation for Asian-inspired cuisines and techniques, I approached wok-fired dishes, dumplings, and seasonal specials with confidence and innovation. In this fast-paced, collaborative environment, I honed my ability to manage daily operations, mentor team members, and contribute to menu development, all while upholding the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability and quality.

Duties Included:

• Managing daily kitchen operations and ensuring smooth, efficient service.

• Preparing, cooking, and presenting high-quality Chinese-American dishes.

• Applying skills gained at Kaizen to elevate wok-fired and other Asian-inspired techniques.

• Collaborating with the team to develop creative, seasonal menu offerings.

• Mentoring and motivating kitchen staff to maintain consistency and high standards.

• Supporting Ernest’s mission of sustainability and ingredient-focused cooking.

Chattanooga, TN / Aug 2023 to March 2024

Reunited with Chef Reed Trimble and some other familiar faces at Frazier Five and Dime, a casual fine dining restaurant in Chattanooga. I’ve gotten the opportunity to explore some unfamiliar stations while flexing where I’ve been comfortable in the past, and learning to prepare some of the more eclectic dishes offered up on our menu.

Duties Included:

• Food Preparation

• Menu and Recipe Planning

• Quality Control

• Food Safety

• Manage inventory of kitchen supplies and ingredients

Knoxville, TN / June 2023 to August 2023

A new city, a new kitchen, a whole new cuisine. Working with Chef/Owner Jesse Newmister of Kaizen in Knoxville’s Old City and his amazing team was a bit of a dream come true. I’ve always been interested, maybe even fascinated, by Asian cuisine. Sure my introduction to this food at a young age was pretty basic, ie. a slight obsession with egg drop soup, but over the years I’ve explored and indulged in some of the more unique, rich and exquisite flavors Asian food has to offer and in the Kaizen kitchen there’s a lot to offer. From Japanese cuisine, to other influences including Szechuan and Thai, Kaizen has it covered and explored daily with our ever evolving special. I had some learning to do but was overly excited about this opportunity and this part of my journey.

Duties Included:

• Preparing, cooking and presenting high quality dishes within my speciality section.

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / Oct 2021 to May 2023

I was once again called upon by Chef Rebecca Barron to be part of opening a new restaurant that she had partnered with to open and lead. Hello Monty! For the first time I got to experience what it takes to open a restaurant from the ground up and be a part of the team to launch this new open flame experience in Chattanooga. Over the past 2 years at Hello Monty, I worked my way up the ranks to Sous Chef, I was able to once again learn what it takes to work along side a James Beard Nominated Chef, eventually handed the reins to support the team in managing the kitchen, and once again given the opportunity to add some of my recipes to the menu.

Duties Included:

• Knowledge of Open Flame Kitchen

• Food Preparation

• Menu and Recipe Planning

• Quality Control

• Food Safety

• Manage inventory of kitchen supplies and ingredients

Chattanooga, TN / Sept 2021 to Oct 2021

I was fortunate enough to work at this amazing pizzeria for a short time to help expand my exploration of different styles of cooking and cuisine. In addition to my line cook duties and general prep work I was encouraged to explore and try new recipes. On multiple occasions my creations made it on the weekly features menu.

Duties Included:

• Recipe Development

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / January 2021 to July 2021

Yes, It’s a burger restaurant, but I was given the opportunity to re-connect with Chef Rebecca Baron while she was doing what we’ll call a residency at this burger joint. Chef took this opportunity to experiment on featured dishes, a snack menu, and some unexpected embellishments on your typical burger. Our kitchen was a hollowed out Airstream that was inside the restaurant. Tight spaces yes, but even tighter dishes were coming out of that little box. From Corn Dog Fritters with Okonomi Sauce to a Duck Confit Monte Cristo.

Duties Included:

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / May 2020 to Sep 2021

By this time in my short career I had made some friends that shared my profession and we were all looking out for each other during these crazy times when some restaurants just weren’t surviving. If I learned one thing at Parkway Pourhouse while working with Chef Reed Trimble, whom I worked with at Meeting Place, it was how to cook large volumes of food, efficiently and consistently. This successful cajun cuisine sports bar rarely had an empty seat while the world was transitioning back to normality and I absorbed every moment of that fast paced environment.

Duties Included:

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Big Batch Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / Jan 2020 to Mar 2020

Originally not really what you’d expect when you’re thinking “Mexican Food in Chattanooga, TN”. This was the first time I was really given the opportunity to experiment and try new things in the kitchen. Chef Jay Adams had a fresh take on Mexican Cuisine and I was so happy to be along for the ride. Quite a few of my contributions and recipes made it on the weekly specials menu. We were also featured in CityScope Magazine’s 2020 Spring Dining article. Then this crazy global pandemic thing happened…

Duties Included:

• Preparing, cooking and presenting high quality dishes within my speciality section.

• Assisting the Head Chef and Sous Chef in creating menu items, recipes and developing dishes.

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / Sep 2019 to Jan 2020

This Italian restaurant with a connected bar featuring Spanish tapas was a unique experience for me. Having to straddle duties between both of the kitchens gave me a broad view of not only two different styles of food but the focus to balance two completely different cooking and kitchen environments, sometimes in the same day. Not to mention being able to leverage my latin upbringing at the tapas bar, under the guidance of wunderkind Chef Rose Erickson, with some of the recipes I had previously made at home with my family.

Duties Included:

• Preparing, cooking and presenting high quality dishes within my speciality section.

• Assisting the Head Chefs in creating menu items, recipes and developing dishes.

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Chattanooga, TN / Sep 2018 to Jan 2020

This is where it all began for me. With very little kitchen experience I was asked by my now mentor, Chef Rebecca Barron to come in and “stage”. At the time I had no idea what was being asked of me. I acquired 2 knives, went in to meet her and the rest as they say is “history”. At my time at St. John’s + Meeting Place I spent the better part of a year as a Garde Manger learning the ropes with one of the most amazing kitchen teams in town.

Duties Included:

• Prepared all cold food items consistently and in compliance with recipes, portioning, cooking and waste control guidelines.

• Verified proper portion sizes and consistently attained high food quality standards.

• Maintained smooth and timely operations in preparation and delivery of meals and kitchen sanitation.

What I Started to Learn:

• Back-of-House Restaurant Operations

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Efficiency Improvement

• Task Timing & Sequencing

• Team Collaboration

Auburn, AL / Jan 2018 to Jul 2018

While studying engineering at Auburn University I worked as a line and assembly cook for the on campus food services company. It gave me my first taste of working with food professionally while quickly making me think “do I really want to be an engineer sitting behind a desk all day for the rest of my life”?

Duties Included:

• Basic Food Preparation

• Common Cooking Procedures

• Team Collaboration