The District Magazine Volume 1 Issue 1, 2016 | Page 16

How long have you been a chef?
I have been cooking for 20 years, but I have
been a chef for 15, starting my career in the
chain Chili’s.
What culinary school did you attend?
I went to a small school in Lakeland called
American Culinary Academy. It was at the
Linden Airport in a round building where
there was an airplane mechanic school on
the bottom, pilot school in the middle and
the culinary school was on top.
What is your first favorite food memory?
Breakfast for dinner was something I always
remember having as a family. We always
had some sort of fritatta and marinated
tomatoes or cucumbers.
Who or what influenced you to become a
chef?
Even when I graduated from school I still
wasn’t sure if this was for me and how I
was going to make a living at cooking. My
culinary instructor, Mary Miller, found me
a job with Chef Jeannie Pierola at Boca in
Ybor back in 1996. This is where the chefing
thing really started to click and I really
enjoyed the culinary lifestyle of being in the
kitchen. It was Jeannie who really kept my
interest going.
What is your favorite and least favorite
ingredient and why?
I love steak and all kinds and cuts. They’re
just so versatile and can go with everything,
so it makes pairing food with them easy. As
for the least favorite, I would say shellfish
since I have an allergy to shellfish.
Currently, you are the Chef at CENA
located in the Channel District of Tampa.
What is the backstory to CENA and how
was the concept created?
The back story was really just being at the
right place at the right time. I was ready to
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